Sarina Wiegman says England's defence of the Euros 'starts now' after missing out on the Paris Olympics

Sarina Wiegman said England have “moved on” from the heartbreak of missing out on this summer’s Paris Olympics as she turns her focus to defending the Euros in 2025.

The Lionesses face Austria on Friday and Italy on Tuesday in friendlies in Spain after missing out on the Nations League semi-finals - which act as Olympics qualifiers - by the narrowest of margins.

Despite a 6-0 thrashing of Scotland in December, England were denied by Netherlands’ late show against Belgium to win their Nations League group by one goal on goal difference.

Instead of going for gold in the summer, Wiegman now has a lengthy preparation for the Euros in Switzerland, with qualifying to begin in April.

"This is really the start of our Euros campaign and after the very disappointing result of not qualifying for the playoffs to qualify for the Olympics we moved on," Wiegman said at her pre-match press conference. "This is the start, with two friendlies which is really good for us because we can try out some things.

"We are also very close to the U23s so we can see them, we can connect with them and we get a lot of players that we can see where they are at this moment.”

Missing out on a third major tournament in three years could be a blessing for England’s hopes of retaining the Euros as fears grow over the rising workload put upon top players.

Wiegman will be without both her captains for the past two major tournaments, Leah Williamson and Millie Bright, due to injury.

Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway said there was the risk of "burnout” due to the expansion of competitions at both club and international level.

"It is a potential burnout," Stanway said. "But we play football, we love football, football is our life. Everything we do is to be successful on the pitch.

"We know that we'll put ourselves in the best possible position for Euro 2025 because that's the trophy that we want to maintain."

The Women’s Super League title race is coming to the boil with just three points between holders Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.

Wiegman said she had not been put under pressure by club managers to limit the minutes of their star players.

"Not this time,” said Wiegman. "We are in contact with each other all the time, we update each other and of course we know how important the Women's Super League is too, but also the German League for Georgia and the Spanish league for the players who play in Spain at the moment.

"Of course, we want to take care of the players but we want to do lots of things. We play to win but we also have the opportunity now to try out things and also manage minutes. With a busy calendar I think that's something to be aware of.”

Wiegman, though, again called for changes from UEFA and FIFA to ease the stress put on players.

She said: "Of course, we have an issue with injuries, but that's a bigger issue than those two injuries (Williamson and Bright), it's about the load of the players, and the calendar we talk about a lot. We have to address the calendar.

"We really ask UEFA and FIFA to change things, but we are doing our job as best we can, with all the expertise within our team. We have a programme, and then we also monitor the players really well so we think we're doing the right thing.

"You're in an environment where injuries can happen because it's a physical sport but we do the best to minimise that."

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