England Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman lined up for new job next year
SARINA WIEGMAN is in line to manage Team GB at the Olympics next year, should they qualify.
The Dutch boss has been in charge of England since 2021.
Sarina Wiegman is set to manage Team GB at the Olympics should they qualifyRex
Under her guidance the Lionesses reached the World Cup final last month, losing 1-0 to Spain Down Under.
Prior to that Wiegman masterminded Euros glory on home soil last year.
In an official FA statement, the 53-year-old revealed her intention to manage to Team GB next year.
She said: “My full focus is on the Nations League campaign, but I would of course be very excited if the chance came to lead Team GB next summer. It would be an honour.
“The Olympic Games is such a special sporting event and, for women’s football, one of the biggest stages to play.
“That is the goal, but we know it cannot happen if we don’t do our job in the Nations League.
“Until that is complete, it would not be right to talk any more about Team GB including speculation about players and any early preparations.”
The Olympics are set to take place in Paris next summer, although the football event will be hosted across France.
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England will qualify if they reach the final of the Nations League.
Despite the World Cup final having taken place just 32 days ago, the Lionesses are set to kick off their Nations League campaign against Scotland tomorrow.
They will then travel to Wiegman’s former side the Netherlands on Tuesday.
After naming her latest squad, the England boss admitted that she is concerned about the lack of time off for her stars.
She said: “Yes, I am very worried. I was worried before the World Cup, and we knew this was a very short turnaround.
“It’s a bigger thing – we’re all talking about the calendar and we really have to get connected with Fifa, Uefa, the federations, and we have to make that better.
“Of course the game is growing, which is really good. But it has to grow together and players need some rest too.
“Next week they come in and some players only had six days off, which after such a high-level, high-pressure competition is not good for them. And that has been going on for a long time, because we have major tournaments in the summer all the time. So the urgency to solve it and make it better is really, really high.
“The players will come in and we first have to see how they are physically, and we have to get them fresh, and do everything to do that. That’s going to be a challenge.
“Of course you have the team and you want to perform at the highest level, and also you want players to be fresh. For me and my staff it’s balancing (the) two – is this player fit enough, fresh enough, to play the game? That’s balancing, it’s so intense, and players are not robots.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy has withdrawn from the initial squad with a muscular injury, having taken part in Champions League qualifiers with Arsenal last week alongside fellow Lioness Alessia Russo.
Wiegman is also without fellow members of her World Cup squad Bethany England and Keira Walsh.
While Beth Mead and Fran Kirby remain long-term absentees.
GettyTottenham’s Bethany England is among the injury absentees from Wiegman’s latest squad[/caption]
