Wiegman knows what it means to be under the spotlight, having led England to back-to-back major tournament finals.
When you have set that standard, anything less is a disappointment.
England’s level dropped dramatically against France which increased scrutiny on Wiegman, who suffered her first defeat at a Euros after winning 12 games in a row over the previous two tournaments.
It was also the first time the reigning women’s European champions had lost the first match of their defence at the following finals.
Wiegman admitted the scrutiny was “hard” but she focused on the task in hand.
“I always knew ahead of this tournament that it was a very hard group. It can happen but then you need to win the other games,” she said.
“So yes, I was excited but at the same time I felt a little tense too. I think that’s completely normal as you really want to stay in the tournament and you want to win.
“I just had to focus on my job, review well and think about how we could bring people together.”
Wiegman has often delivered in the big moments and no manager has won more Euros matches than the Dutchwoman (13 – level with Germany’s former manager Tina Theune).
She also boasts the best goals-per-game rate in the competition among managers to take charge of four or more matches, with her sides scoring 40 in 14 games.
Having come under criticism for her decision to start Lauren James in the number 10 role against France – which left England vulnerable defensively – Wiegman made all the right choices against the Netherlands.
James started on the right wing, with Manchester United’s Ella Toone starting in the number 10 role. They scored three of the four goals on the night.
Jess Carter, who struggled against France at left-back, was moved into central defence, swapping with Alex Greenwood, and England kept a clean sheet.
“The priority was that we wanted to skip and exploit space. The Netherlands pushed up so we wanted to go over them. That worked really well,” said Wiegman.
“When you’re in their half of the pitch, you can start playing. We had some nice crosses and we spoke about that too.
“[James] came in good positions but she can also do that in midfield. In midfield today we wanted Ella [Toone] because she can make good runs in behind.”
The plan worked.
Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema had just eight touches in the first half and the Dutch conceded more than two goals in a single match at a major women’s tournament for the first time.
They also managed just four shots against England – their fewest on record (since 2011) at a major tournament.
