Euro 2022: How Sarina Wiegman’s super substitutes helped England to European glory

It’s the 110th minute in a European Championship final between England and Germany at Wembley. There’s a record-breaking crowd in the stadium. The scores are level. 

England’s winger, Chloe Kelly, has won a corner and hyped up the crowd to raise the roof. Lauren Hemp takes the corner and Chloe Kelly scores from it to give the Lionesses the lead. 

She runs away in celebration, ripping her shirt off and spinning it perfectly to display her name above her. The stadium erupts.

This is what dreams are made of. Dreams do come true.

Sarina Wiegman wrote history, becoming the first manager to win the European Championship with two different countries, and back-to-back at that. 

She seems to have a magic touch in the competition, having not lost a single game at the Euros so far with 12 wins out of 12.

When Chloe Kelly turned dreams into reality for the #Lionesses…#BBCEuros #WEuro2022 pic.twitter.com/vxbkiLqx1B

Wiegman stuck to the same starting line-up throughout the tournament, retaining the consistency in that aspect from her previous job. 

Under her influence, England regularly found solutions to in-game problems. There was a certain synergy and balance between the starting lineup and the squad that is vital in knockout tournaments. 

Wiegman was rewarded for that trust by multiple match-defining performances in various positions. She didn’t disturb that balance, but her proactive subs provided England with what was needed in the exact moment it was necessary.

Here are the major talking points from an epic final. 

Wiegman used a fixed set of substitutions throughout the tournament. The trio of Alessia Russo, Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly were the go-to changes for the manager, and all of them were vital in England’s success at