EURO 2022: How Georgia Stanway dominated in England's midfield against Norway
Georgia Stanway has become a mainstay and tactically important component to Sarina Wiegman.
England’s striking win over Norway on matchday 2 of the 2022 European Championships was a landmark moment, not just for the records, but as an era-defining moment for Sarina Wiegman’s side. The performance, other than the sheer number of goals, was something of a marker laid down to signal the arrival of the ‘new’ England.
Ellen White, Lauren Hemp, and Beth Mead all starred under the lights at the Amex with a scintillating display that had swagger, suave, and class. The movement and decision-making between the three were exceptional and set up England to race to a 6-0 lead in the first half. However, it was the deeper midfielders that provided them with the solid base to allow the forward line to operate with clear fluidity, particularly Bayern Munich’s Georgia Stanway. The way Stanway and Keira Walsh functioned meant they weren’t overrun defensively yet were also able to commit numbers going forward to create channel overloads and overlaps.
The previously written article about England’s attacking system was designed to explain how the forward line operates and the displays in the group stage have shown how far they’ve developed tactically under Wiegman. The seemingly last-minute change of leaving out Alex Greenwood on the eve of the tournament to use Leah Williamson as a central defender was seemingly strange given her success as their premier left-sided centre-back and Williamson’s triumph as a defensive pivot. Nevertheless, the last friendly against Switzerland gave England another dimension with some elite-level progressive play from the Arsenal and England captain.
The switch of personnel and position is a more progressive move, especially in games the Lionesses know they can dominate, so while the game against Austria might seem more routine to make this decision, against Norway it wasn’t as obvious. Ada Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen, Frida Maanum, and Ingrid Engen are all threats between the lines and having a solid foundation to deal with their movements becomes critical.
Wiegman has so far settled on a 4-2-3-1 shape but what was prevalent was the continuous adjustments they made in the system in attacking and defending transitions. The team switched between a 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, and 4-3-3 in possession and opted for a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 out of possession. The 4-1-4-1 was significant as it showcased England’s use of dual No. 10s instead of two out-and-out No. 8s. Kirby and Stanway were key components in creating havoc between the lines, making line-breaking runs and passes in tandem. Their collective and individual movement was the source of creativity and epitomised Wiegman’s football going forward.
The main motive to constantly shapeshift was because of Norway’s 4-4-1-1 formation and the imperious threats of Hegerberg and Graham Hansen’s ability to operate between the lines and drift between England’s double-pivot. Vilde Bøe Risa and Ingrid Engen are two energetic and playmaking central midfielders and taking advantage of the lack of defensive discipline without Frida Maanum gave England a slight advantage in the midfield battle.
The double-pivot is fundamental to the balance of any side and their spatial awareness and positioning is pivotal to a side’s fundamental core principles. Without it, teams will lack any sort of transition ability and leave wide-open spaces. This game was quite the opposite as both teams used their midfield as screens to create central blockades.
Hegerberg’s movement as a dropping forward is exquisite given her exploits for her club, and the combination with a fluid attacking midfielder in Graham Hansen is a deadly prospect. Williamson might have been the safer choice but using a double-pivot of Stanway and Walsh ended up being a much more aggressive duo and ultimately yielded more and it enabled Kirby as well. The midfield structure was constructed with one goal in mind – to disrupt Norway’s midfield pivot and create overloads in the channels that constitute one of their core game philosophies.
Norway’s four-in-midfield consisted of two central players and two wingers. Though Guro Reiten does create numerical superiority for the flat-four structure by cutting inside in the final third, England were able to maintain a numerical advantage through Walsh, Stanway, and Kirby.
Stanway’s role was particularly intriguing, playing a hybrid No. 8 dropping deep to receive in the build-up whilst also playing as an advanced No. 10. While Walsh’s role was mainly a deep-lying distributor that enabled England to build out and distribute both long and short, Stanway was very much the instigator and progresses. Stanway was inevitably everywhere being a passing option, link player, and counter-attacking outlet. The touch map below shows the point of origin of Stanway’s passes, ball possessions, and counter-attack pick-up points.
The tenacity in Stanway’s game meant she was able to carry out the role whilst adjusting to the game state. Part of the reason for her use as a No. 10 was because of the tenacity she brings as well as creativity. Her off-the-ball discipline was the biggest concern but if Austria and Norway games are anything to go by, then it’s proved that Stanway can be a long-term option as a No. 8, but that can be discussed later.
This example might be a classic example of build-up and progression but the positions of the players remain the same. The first ball was won by Norway, however, the second ball picked up by Stanway already shows England are with a numerical advantage in a 3 v 2 once the centre-back gets back in position. The pass out to Kirby shows the Chelsea playmaker in space and is able to free up Lauren Hemp on the left.
Equally, if White makes the run to the right, she’d find herself in the same amount of space too. Stanway’s deeper position shows the versatility in her movement and positioning in that game, coming into a deeper space to protect the back four for the shorter pass before it went long.
Now while I’ve mentioned Norway’s midfield line being a flat-four to some extent, the interior positions taken up by Reiten meant there were times of a central block of three. Wiegman instructed her trio of interior midfielders to be positioned on either side of the Norwegian double-pivot to take advantage of the half-space regions to receive and progress in space.
At various points throughout the first half, England were able to receive in space without any real pressure of being dispossessed. Stanway pushed up while Kirby dropped deep, and both players created the 4-1-4-1 shape but both took up half space positions outside Engen and Bøe Risa. An example of this can be partially seen in the earlier example, but here is another one.
Though this is a simple passing sequence starting with Walsh, both Kirby and Stanway are positioned in slightly wider positions – mainly Kirby – in relation to the Norwegian central midfield duo. The threat of England’s wide players forces the full-backs to stay tight, thus leaving the half-spaces open for Kirby and Stanway to utilise. The apparent weakness of Maria Thorisdottir and Maren Mjelde’s defending down their sides was in turn heavily exploited by the movements of Kirby and Stanway as well as Lucy Bronze’s interior runs.
This sequence here highlights how Stanway drifts into the wide space and runs the channel through the vacant spaces and then interchanges with Beth Mead. The Arsenal winger holds up the ball and waits for an opportunity to play another pass. Stanway drives into the box through the Norwegian defence and finds herself in acres of space to cross the ball across the box.
A lot of Norway’s issues stemmed from their defensive structure mismatch with out-of-position personnel but make no mistake, England’s movements would still have caused most teams a lot of issues. Going forward, this approach may still need to be optimised and adjusted against higher-level opposition, however, there are strong signs that England might have just found their heir to the No. 8 position if they want Williamson to play as their central defender.
Photo by Lynne Cameron - The FA/The FA via Getty Images