England miss Leah Williamson’s ability to pass out from the back and the answer is moving Alex Greenwood to centre half but there are risks… So will Sarina Wiegman stick or twist?

When Leah Williamson was ruled out of the World Cup through injury, England lost their captain and one of the world’s best defenders. But perhaps what has been overlooked is that they also lost a key component of their attack.

England have not scored from open play since Williamson’s injury, with back-to-back goalless draws against Portugal and Canada before Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Haiti, in which Georgia Stanway scored from the penalty spot.

Williamson’s absence is not the only reason. England have created chances but have been wasteful in front of goal. It is clear, though, that their build-up play has been nowhere near as effective without Williamson in defence.

One of England’s biggest problems against resilient Haiti was that Keira Walsh was man-marked out of the game. 

The Lionesses have come to expect this from opposition teams, but they were able to counteract this by Williamson carrying the ball out of defence. This would either drag Walsh’s markers out of position or she would be left with space to drive into.

Leah Williamson is at home during the World Cup after rupturing her ACL earlier this year

The Arsenal centre back is also one of the best players at breaking defensive lines with her passing. England failed to execute this effectively against Haiti, regularly giving the ball away in their own half. What helps Williamson is that she has previously played in midfield — and on occasions last season was pushed higher up the pitch by Arsenal due to injuries.

In their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, Williamson produced a player-of-the-match performance in the midfield role, which included a back-heeled assist. While England can’t replace her, it is possible to replicate the way they played with Williamson in the team.

This would involve Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood moving from left back to centre back alongside Millie Bright, with Jess Carter moving to left back. Greenwood has a similar style to Williamson. She can break lines, bring the ball out of defence and is comfortable in possession. But Sarina Wiegman opted to go for a natural left-footer at full back, meaning Greenwood started out wide while Carter was deployed in the middle with Bright.

Alex Greenwood should move from left back to centre back alongside Millie Bright

This meant England had two centre backs whose strengths are not dribbling out of defence. Bright is capable of playing impressive long-range passes, though she was careless in possession against Haiti, but it is different to how Williamson plays through opposition defences.

Carter had a 96 per cent pass completion rate but most of those were sideways or backwards. She is, though, England’s best 1v1 defender and that is perhaps why Wiegman is keen to have her in the middle. Bright, meanwhile, gave the ball away 15 times as she looked to try and take on Williamson’s role. Given she was starting her first competitive game since March, some rustiness was to be expected.

Greenwood had the most touches of any player on the pitch and while she is undoubtedly England’s best left back, she may be more effective in the middle. She did produce two dangerous crosses that England should have converted but her passing ability is wasted at full back.

So, with Denmark up next for the Lionesses, Wiegman has a dilemma. Does she stick with Greenwood at left back and Carter in the middle in the hope that England’s defence will click as the games go on? Or, does she take the risk of changing a winning team by switching Carter and Greenwood around to better utilise the latter’s passing and dribbling abilities?

With Denmark up next for the Lionesses, manager Sarina Wiegman has a dilemma

The England boss rarely makes tactical changes to her starting XI in tournaments. In the Euros last summer she kept the same team for every game. As manager of the Netherlands, she made two changes at the 2019 World Cup and three during the 2017 Euros, two of which were enforced.

There is little time to experiment at tournaments so if Wiegman is going to make a change, she should probably do so at this point.