Sarina Wiegman remains humble after Lionesses historic 8-0 victory over Norway confirms Euros quarter-final place

On a warm evening down on the south coast of Brighton, fans flocked to see England book their passage into the knockout phase of the tournament. However, nobody quite expected the fireworks that followed.

Wiegman’s side got off to a flying start with Georgia Stanway opening the scoring from the penalty spot. Lauren Hemp notched the second before Ellen White and Beth Mead bagged respective braces to give England a 6-0 lead at the break.

After a torrid opening 45 minutes, Norway tweaked their tactics but they were unable to stop the hosts from adding to their tally. Substitute Alessia Russo headed a seventh before Mead netted her hat-trick, capping off a phenomenal evening for the Lionesses and booking their place in the quarter-finals.

The full-time whistle sparked scenes of jubilation amongst players, staff and fans alike before Wiegman, as she did after their opening match against Austria at Old Trafford, gathered her team in the middle of the pitch for a debrief – one of celebration but also a reminder that the job is far from done.

The Dutchwoman credited the whole team’s performance after a dominant display and although the mood in the camp was high, Wiegman emphasised the need to remain humble with only two games played.

“You could really tell that the players enjoyed it, the ones on the pitch and the ones that came on,” she told Sky Sports. “We saw after the game that the whole team enjoyed it. It was very nice and we will stay grounded.”

The Lionesses became the first men’s or women’s side in a European Championship finals to score seven goals. Although pleasing for Wiegman, record breaking and history making wasn’t at the forefront of her thinking at the end of the match.

“I’m really happy with the performance of the whole team and happy to go into the next round. We hope they [the fans] enjoyed and hope to make the nation proud. We’ve had two games now, we are trying to play our best game and today we did.”

England will learn their quarter-final opponents on Tuesday evening when Germany and Spain meet in Group B at the Brentford Community Stadium, 8pm KO, with the runners-up in this group the Lionesses’ last-eight opponents.