Arnold Clark Cup 2023: England beat Italy 2-1 as Daly double ...

England 2-1 Italy (Daly 32′, 71′ | Cantore 62′)

Sarina Wiegman is big on versatility. She called up Maya Le Tissier, just 20, for her Arnold Clark Cup squad in part because she can play at right-back, in central midfield or as a central defender. Against South Korea, she surprised us all by picking Leah Williamson, the midfielder she converted into a central defender, in midfield again. In the aftermath of that win, Wiegman reinforced the same point.

“You want players to be exceptional in the position they play in,” Wiegman said, slightly stating the obvious. “But if they can play in more positions, then we have more opportunities in the team. That helps us whenever we have to change and that we have opportunities to stay really strong with changes either on the pitch or when players are substituted in.”

The message is clear: show me you can be multifunctional while maintaining high function and I will cherish you like my own.

And so, because everything Wiegman touches turns to goals, England are making that versatility their thing. England’s head coach has specialist strikers and dependable goalscorers. Now she has converted her starting left-back at the Euros, Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly, to a centre forward who scored both goals to beat Italy. At various points during her tenure, it has felt a little like Wiegman has the cheat codes. In fact, that’s merely the secret to great management: taking chances and making them look like bankers because you have done the preparatory work. The rest of us have only seen the conclusion.

In the case of Daly, of course, this is the re-reinvention of the wheel. Daly has long played as a striker at club level. She was used by Wiegman as a left-back during the Euros because the coach believed that England could create a double threat down the left that could help them break down teams who sat in a low block. If the doubts surrounded her defending, Daly had always been a willing runner and proved herself capable of at least standing up an opposition winger, if not dispossessing her (and she often did both).

Then, as Ellen White steps out of the limelight and into her post-England career, a spot opens up elsewhere. Alex Greenwood is a fine left-back (she captained England against Italy) and Daly has impressed for Aston Villa after her return to England. She may lack the physical presence of White, but two headed goals suggest any other required attribute is present.

Daly celebrated each header in a 2–1 win – one steered into each corner of Laura Giuliani’s goal as a snooker professional might gently cut the blue into the middle pocket – with a ferocity that suggests she knows how few games there are between now and Brisbane. Between Beth Mead (recovery permitting), Beth England and Alessia Russo, there is competition for places to take on White’s mantle of England’s World Cup goalscorer and line leader. Daly has nudged herself at least one place up the queue.

If this mini-tournament is a useful gauge for Wiegman, it also marks the final leg of England’s Euro 2022 national lap of honour. Their games, in Milton Keynes, Coventry and Bristol, take them to places the men’s senior team will never visit en masse. The environs of the CBS Arena were packed with food stalls, music and, most importantly, supporters from more than two hours before kick off. The attendance was a record for any sporting fixture in a stadium that Coventry City and Wasps have both called home.

That is more crucial now than ever. If winning the European Championship is to mean anything beyond its own sporting significance, it is in its inspiration to young girls across England. If you cannot see it, so the phrase goes, you are far less likely to be it. With the World Cup taking place as far from the home of the European champions as it is possible to be, these are precious months to make watching England a joyous, live experience.

They watched a dominant England (there is rarely any other kind these days), but also a sloppy and profligate one. Daly herself missed two other headers and England conceded for only the third time since that glorious heady day at Wembley against Germany. If the lack of goal line technology gained the assist, Wiegman will be annoyed at the carelessness that preceded it.

But that is why we are here. Last year’s Arnold Clark Cup was intended to prove to the Lionesses that they could compete with the best; we need no more proof. In 2023, England entered World Cup preparation mode. That means ironing out creases, finding easy answers against tough, low block defences and working out which of this band of multifunctional, multi-talented footballers are best suited to which role. Find a nation that has more of them than Wiegman and you have probably discovered the next World Cup winner.