Sue Smith: Bounceback win proved we do have leaders in this team

Leah Williamson said that the Netherlands game on Wednesday  was one of the most pressured she’s felt as an England player, and that heading into it was more of a test as a “human” rather than a ­“footballer”. You could sense the weight of that pressure resting on them, and in truth my main worry was how the players were going to cope. We needn’t have worried, as the emphatic way they answered it stands them in good stead for the rest of the tournament.

The pressure looked like it may have even been getting to the ­usually level-headed Sarina Wiegman during the France game, but she seemed back to her usual self against the Netherlands. One of the things I like about her most is she never gets too high after a win and never gets too low when they’ve lost. That rubs off on the players. Listening to them after the France game, they all came out and took responsibility. They were all ­desperate to put it right and that’s what they did against the Netherlands. They came out so strong and that is purely a mentality thing, and that comes from the manager.

Obviously there were the tactical changes like switching Lauren James to the right, with Ella Toone in the middle. Against France, the midfield didn’t work and they were overrun. But tournament football is all about having to react quickly and make things work, and moving Toone into the middle definitely helped against the Netherlands. Some claim that James operates better as an impact substitute, but you simply have to play her. Her performance against the Netherlands proves that you have to find room for her.

Alex Greenwood on the left-hand side helped provide balance, too. As a left winger, when you have a right-footed left-back, they have a tendency to come inside much more often so you don’t get fed as much. So having Greenwood, who is naturally left-footed, helped feed Lauren Hemp to get more deliveries into the box. You know as a forward that the left wing is going to get her head up and whip it into the box.

So yes, tactically we got it spot on, but the mentality shift was huge. Before the tournament, we were worried about England losing leaders and big characters in the build-up, with Mary Earps and Millie Bright not being there. But it just shows that they have clearly still got them in camp because they were able to step up and take responsibility.

There are lots of different ­characters within any football team. Often when you come off a bad performance, the dressing room can be really quiet. Everyone will be reflecting on their performance. But then you’ll get big characters that will come in and maybe kick off a bit. But sometimes that’s a good thing. You can talk about it and reflect on it. And then the manager can come in and give their own opinion on it. Collectively it’s important to get it out.

I imagine Sarina Wiegman being quite calm and saying: “That wasn’t the performance that we wanted but it’s not the end of the world. Let’s reflect and learn from what we’ve done badly but let’s keep believing and being strong.”

So many of these players have experienced the pressure of playing knockout games where if you lose, you go home. That’s what that Netherlands game was in a way, so it prepares the camp for that pressure for the rest of the tournament.

There haven’t been many great surprises so far, and it has gone largely as we expected. But Spain are frightening. They were my favourites going into the tournament and their quality is on show for everyone to see – and to be playing the way they are so early in the tournament looks ominous for the rest of the teams. France also really impressed me in the first game against England. The strength in depth they’ve got is ridiculous.

We used to watch the other games as a group, and occasionally speak about how good other countries looked at different tournaments. We’d be watching thinking: “Oh God, Germany look good!” But I don’t think these girls will fear anyone. I feel like this group will watch Spain and think, “Yeah they’re playing well but we can win.” They’ve got that winning mentality because they’ve done it and they know how to do it.

Looking ahead to the final group game against Wales, the second best prize for them would be to stop England progressing. There’s that rivalry. I expect a strong performance defensively. They’ll look to be well organised and make it difficult for England to break them down. Against France, they offered more threat going forward than they did against the Netherlands. They have nothing to lose. We’re the ones who have to try to win.