launched a passionate defence of Mary Earps after the goalkeeper committed a costly error in last night’s win over the Netherlands.
Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup runners-up staged a stunning second-half comeback that lifted the Lionesses to a 3-2 win in their penultimate Women’s Nations League group-stage clash at .
Needing a victory to remain in contention to finish top in group A1 and advance in the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for next summer’s in Paris, England quickly dug themselves a hole after Lineth Beerensteyn netted twice before the break.
But the Lionesses battled back after the restart on a frigid night in London, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp stoking the crowd back into a frenzy by the hour mark before substitute Ella Toone sealed a dramatic victory in stoppage time.
England’s qualification hopes are still alive and Earps thanked her teammates afterwards for digging her out of a hole after she allowed Beerensteyn’s tame shot to squirm through her hands and put the Dutch into what appeared to be an unassailable lead.
Earps, wearing the captain’s armband at a packed Wembley for the first time, spoke passionately after the game and conceded her performance wasn’t good enough, but Wright maintained she ‘should not be beating herself up’.
He said: ‘I don’t think she should be beating herself up like she is she looked really quite distressed there.
‘The fact is on many occasions Mary Earps has saved this team. Unfortunately for her today she made a mistake that yes we needed two goals but we didn’t lose the game.
‘Unfortunately we didn’t get the two goals but at the same time that’s what it’s about. It happens like that and her team has pulled her out of it. You’ve to take it on the chin and move on.’
Earps’ apology, meanwhile, was rendered utterly unnecessary for Wiegman, who said: ‘I spoke to her very shortly and I don’t want her to talk like that.
‘We win as a team and lose as a team. That is part of the game. Of course she didn’t like the team down, everyone does her best. You only let the team down when you don’t put effort into the game and we never don’t put effort in.
‘Everyone stepped up. We needed to step up as a team. I think everyone did that.’
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