Sarina Wiegman has defended promoting Hannah Hampton as England’s No 1 over Mary Earps, saying she makes “decisions to win”, after Earps criticised the head coach’s move in her autobiography.
Wiegman, speaking at Wembley after the announcement of her squad for fixtures against China and Ghana, said she had “really enjoyed working with Mary” and would cherish their time together with England but that she would make the same decision again.
Earps announced her retirement from international football shortly before last summer’s Euros in Switzerland, after Wiegman made Hampton the starting goalkeeper in place of Earps, the England No 1 at the 2022 Euros and 2023 World Cup. Hampton’s distribution is widely viewed as hugely important to the way England want to play.
“We had a very good goalkeeper unit and the two goalkeepers were competing for the No 1 spot,” Wiegman said. “We kept communicating and we tried to support everyone in the best possible way. I can’t control how it comes across and there’s always learnings, but I don’t think, looking at the bigger picture, I would have done things differently.
“My reality and someone else’s reality can be different because how you experience things is very individual. I just know what I want to do is create an environment where we speak up, where I give clarity, where I always communicate with players when it’s necessary, and also, I make decisions to win.”
Hampton shone at the Euros in Switzerland, helping England triumph on penalties in their quarter-final against Sweden and in the final against Spain, where she saved spot kicks from three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí and Arsenal’s Champions League winner Mariona Caldentey.
Wiegman would not be drawn on conversations she had with players. “I always keep conversations private,” she said. “ I’ll keep that private because that builds trust … When they feel that things stay with me, they know the door is always open and will come in and keep sharing things. That really helps on and off the pitch and helps to connect people.
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“So, that’s my approach. We create an environment where we want people to be themselves. Everyone’s different and that’s nice too, because you want to get to know each other. What you’re trying to do is to know the person so well that you know how to support them in the best way, but also in moments challenge them if necessary.”
