Wiegman surpassed England's 'wildest dreams', awarded with new contract

Sarina Wiegman is set for talks over a new contract as England manager after sensationally leading the Lionesses to Women's Euro 2022 glory. Former Netherlands coach Wiegman took charge of England just 11 months ago but inspired groundbreaking success at her first major tournament in the job.

England's women's side had never previously won a major title, while the last success for either of their senior teams saw the men win the 1966 World Cup. Incredibly, Wiegman defended the European title she won with the Oranje, becoming the first coach to achieve this success with two different nations.

After a 2-1 final triumph against Germany in Sunday's Wembley final, she has won all 12 of her Women's Euros finals matches across the two roles. Wiegman is under contract for another three years, in which time England will travel to Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 Women's World Cup before defending their title at the Women's Euro 2025.

But the Football Association (FA) is eager to further tie Wiegman down while she remains unbeaten in her 20 matches as manager. The Lionesses have won 18 of those, scoring 106 goals. "She is incredible," said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham. "She was our number one target when we were going out to look for a manager, and she was just brilliant all through that process. We were delighted to secure her, even though, in our wildest dreams, we thought that this tournament might be too early".

He added: "She only signed in September, but we would love her to be with us for a long time. I think she's a really special person and a really special talent."

Sue Campbell, the FA's director of women's football, said of Wiegman: "She'll have a couple of weeks off and then when she gets back we'll have a conversation. She's done an incredible job." Campbell, quoted by ESPN, added: "When we interviewed her, we knew we were getting the best tactical and technical coach in the world; what we didn't know was that we were getting this exceptional human being. The first words she said to me when I walked to her on the pitch [on Sunday] was, 'What have we done?'. She really didn't know. There's a humility there and a passion for the game."