Lotte Wubben-Moy made her first competitive start for England in the 1-1 draw against Sweden.Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images
When Lotte Wubben-Moy walked out at Wembley against Sweden there can be little doubt about the pride she was feeling. Named in England’s starting lineup in a competitive match for the first time since November 2021, a long and patient wait over, the 25-year-old defender finally had her chance.
Entering the field hand in hand with her boyfriend Tao Geoghegan Hart’s sister will have been a memorable moment. “It’s a very special feeling for both me and my family,” says the England defender. “I had my partner’s little sister walking out with me so that was super special. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the cherry on top in terms of getting the win tonight but this is something for me personally to build on. There are a lot of relationships for me to gel together. I hope this is the start of many more.
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More than most, Wubben-Moy has had to bide her time, the ultimate squad player who has attended the last two major tournaments without playing a minute. And yet there are few players so synonymous with the Lionesses’ brand. Recognised for her eloquence and strong ambition to leave football and society in a better place, Wubben-Moy led the charge after the Lionesses’ European Championship win to write an open letter to the government, signed by the whole team, calling for every girl in school to have access to football in PE.
Sarina Wiegman has consistently talked about how form is key for selection and there can be little doubt about Wubben-Moy’s quality this season. She has been ever-present at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, making 16 starts in their 17 league matches. She has now been rewarded with two starts for the Lionesses, her first coming in a friendly against Italy in February when she also scored her first goal for her country.
“Credit to Sarina,” she says. “Throughout my whole England journey, she’s spoken to me about what I need to work on and what I’m doing well. I think I’ve taken that on board. We had a conversation today and she said: ‘Go out and enjoy it. You’ve earned it.’ That put a smile on my face … I wouldn’t have wanted to get a start without it being justified. For it to have come when I’m feeling so good and in such fine form is pretty cool.”
Sweden provided Wubben-Moy and her teammates with a stern test as the reigning European champions were held to a gritty draw. The Lionesses struggled to handle Peter Gerhardsson’s gameplan that targeted Keira Walsh and Alex Greenwood with an aggressive press and a fast-paced counterattack. The inversion of their wide players, Fridolina Rolfö and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, also helped them to bypass England’s midfield and pile pressure on Wubben-Moy and Greenwood.
For the most part, the two centre-backs were equal to it but Wiegman will know that the Lionesses will need to tighten up if they are to directly qualify for next year’s tournament. “We’re quite disappointed because this is the first step in our qualification journey and we wanted it to be a good one,” Wubben-Moy says. “There’s a lot we can learn.
“They posed us a few challenges in terms of their rotations in midfield. They overloaded us bringing the winger inside and we struggled with that at first. I think we found the solutions but ultimately, it’s a performance of chess in a sense. We also posed them challenges and we’ve got to take the positives too. But there’s a lot for us to learn.”
Georgia Stanway agreed. “They cut off one centre-back which left the other one with a lot of the ball,” she says. “Sometimes that’s not always the best thing because the whole of the pitch is player-to-player. We found solutions by dropping with one deeper but they’re a tough opposition.”
“I think the things that we are usually really composed with are the things that we struggled with today. I still think we had a lot of joy on the ball and we found a lot of space but it was just that next action that we need to complete. It’s not a bad start but it’s not a great start.”
