England’s failure to make the most of their scoring opportunities has been a recurring issue since 2023, when they lost to Spain in the World Cup final.
During that competition, they advanced from the group stage without producing their best football, recording narrow 1-0 victories over lower-ranked Haiti and Denmark.
England then needed a penalty shootout to overcome Nigeria before recovering from a goal down to defeat Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
They have delivered positive results in this year’s World Cup qualifiers, although the wins have rarely been comfortable, with tight victories against Iceland and Spain followed by a below-par attacking display against Greece.
Despite their finishing problems, England continue to create opportunities, registering 58 touches inside Greece’s penalty area and completing 210 passes in the attacking third.
Midfielder Keira Walsh explained that the team used a different approach in 2023 and that competing at a World Cup brought significantly greater pressure.
Walsh said the greater concern in these qualifying matches would be an inability to reach the attacking third, which would represent a much more serious issue.
She added that the missing elements in Friday’s match were the decisive pass, accurate cross and clinical finish, despite the players regularly demonstrating those qualities in training.
Walsh hopes the team can reproduce that training-ground sharpness in the next match.
She admitted that England’s hesitation in front of goal has been frustrating and acknowledged that improvements are required for the second leg.
Arsenal midfielder Georgia Stanway has responded particularly well, becoming England’s leading scorer since Euro 2025 with 10 goals.
She is among the three highest-scoring European players in international football during that period and averages one goal every 81 minutes.
Wiegman wants more players to contribute in the same way and clearly identified the areas requiring improvement when she addressed the subject on Monday.
The Dutch coach said England had reached promising positions but needed better timing and decision-making, including staying onside, selecting the correct final pass, coordinating runs and choosing between a cross, a cutback or an attempt toward the far post.
She also highlighted the importance of stronger combinations between players in those moments while ensuring the team remains protected against counter-attacks.
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