Three problems Wiegman & England need to address before Euro 2025

Let's be honest, a Nations League game five months before a major tournament shouldn't be important.

For England, however, Wednesday's game at home to Spain is vital.

The Lionesses want to be seen as one of the best teams on the planet but their results and performances tell a different story.

Conceding four goals during a drab defeat to Germany, drawing 0-0 with a USA team missing half their best players and Friday night's uninspiring draw in Portugal means the feeling of excitement and invincibility that once came with this England team has disappeared.

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Sarina Wiegman has talked for months about how "teams have caught up", how the standard of football around the world has increased rapidly and how her team is "trying to adapt" with new players coming into the squad.

Beating the world champions in front of 55,000 fans would give everyone a much-needed confidence boost and send a chilling message to their rivals ahead of the Euros.

If England are going to win the tournament for the second time in a row, however, they need to sort out some key issues:

How best to deploy Lauren James

We saw at the 2023 World Cup, England are better with Lauren James in their line-up. But has Wiegman cracked the conundrum of where best to play her?

The Chelsea attacker started out wide against Portugal on Friday but struggled to get into the game. James has shown with her club yet again this year she's a game-winner, England need to dial up a plan to get her the ball when it counts.

How to fix England's stuttering attack

It's not just the James puzzle that needs solving. Lauren Hemp is injured and won't have a lot of time to find form and fitness ahead of the summer, Chloe Kelly's struggle for game-time is well-documented and if she gets in at Arsenal then will it be at the expense of Beth Mead, who is having a decent but far from stellar club season?

Jess Park, now seen as a midfielder at Manchester City, is played more on the wing by Wiegman. Jess Naz and Aggie Beever-Jones aren't trusted fully yet and Euros-winner Nikita Parris is an outsider to be on the plane to Switzerland.

England haven't beaten a team by two or more goals for 10 months. Figuring out which forwards will change that statistic is vital.

Fresh ideas

Wiegman is one of the most respected coaches in the world but it's clear England's vulnerabilities have been picked at by opposing tacticians in recent months.

Germany took advantage of England's defensive frailties by scoring three goals in 29 minutes at Wembley, USA kept England to just a single shot on goal by defending rigidly back in November and Portugal's Kika Nazareth's brilliance destroyed the Lionesses' collective efforts.

If teams have figured England out, then what is the backup plan for Wiegman that can consistently win matches?

Answering that question against the world champions will get England talked about again as the team to beat this summer.

But another stuttering display against one of the world's elite will lead to more soul searching, which is hardly ideal as Switzerland 2025 approaches.