Wiegman: Lionesses have moved on from Olympic heartbreak

Sarina Wiegman insists England have "moved on" from the heartbreak of missing out on Olympic qualification.

The Lionesses face Austria tomorrow and Italy on Tuesday in a pair of friendlies that have replaced what they hoped would be Nations League semi-finals.

A 6-0 thrashing of Scotland looked to have secured top spot in Group A1 in December, only for the Netherlands to score twice in added time against Belgium to pip Wiegman's side on goal difference and end Team GB's hopes of qualifying for Paris 2024.

The Dutch tactician, 54, said: "After the very disappointing result of not qualifying for the play-offs to qualify for the Olympics, we have moved on.

"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 Under-23s [who are also training and playing in Spain], so we can see them, we can connect with them.

"This is a great start because in April the Nations League starts, which are the qualifiers for the Euros."

Euro 2022-winning captain Leah Williamson had been named in Wiegman's squad for the first time since suffering an ACL rupture but the Arsenal defender withdrew with a hamstring injury last Sunday.

Asked if club coaches had requested a limit on player minutes amid a three-way Women's Super League title race and a spate of high-profile injuries, Wiegman said: "Not this time.

"We are in contact with each other all the time, we update each other and we know how important the WSL is but also the German league for Georgia [Stanway] and the Spanish league for the players who play there.

"Of course, we want to take care of the players but we want to do lots of things.

"We play to win but we have the opportunity now to try things and manage minutes. With a busy calendar I think that's something to be aware of."