Wiegman’s England could harm World Cup hopes by training and flying so early

On Tuesday 4 June 2019 the plane carrying the England football squad to the Women’s World Cup in France descended low over the Côte d’Azur and seemed to skim across the Mediterranean.

It was on final approach to the spit of reclaimed land cantilevered above the sea that serves as the runaway at Nice airport and the water beneath its wings shimmered in the early evening sun.

Five days later, and three miles inland, Phil Neville’s side kicked off their tournament by beating Scotland 2-1 at the Stade de Nice. If the red-roofed villas built into the spectacular Alpine foothills soaring above the stadium appeared in peril of sliding down the vertiginous slopes, the Lionesses seemed reassuringly sure-footed.

Four years, and a pandemic, later that precedent begs the question as to why Sarina Wiegman’s England are flying to Brisbane for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand quite so early.

The Lionesses are scheduled to take off on 5 July, heading for a pre-tournament training camp on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in advance of their opening match against Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July.

Admittedly France was considerably closer, England won’t land in Australia until 7 July and it will take about four days before their recovery from jet lag is deemed sufficient to allow full training sessions.

Yet that still leaves 11 days before the Haiti game. Moreover, before boarding the plane, Wiegman’s players will have been in camp at England’s St George’s Park base from 19 June, with a couple of weekends off offering their sole respite.

It was different four years ago when the domestic season did not finish until mid-May and the squad could not convene until late in that month but lack of fitness was not the reason why, two