Sarina Wiegman is staying. The most successful coach in England's history has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep her in charge of the Lionesses until the end of Euro 2029, the Football Association announced on Monday — ending any doubt about who leads England into the next World Cup and beyond.
The 56-year-old Dutchwoman was due to be out of contract after next summer's World Cup in Brazil. Instead, as Reuters reported, she will now oversee a full second cycle: the 2027 World Cup, the defence of the European title she has already won twice, and a potential third straight Euros crown in 2029. By then she will have been in the job for eight years.
"I am so happy to be able to carry on with this squad and cannot think of a better job in football," Wiegman said in the FA statement. "Anyone who knows me will understand that my main concern right now is absolutely the World Cup and helping this squad realise their potential in the years to come."
A record nobody in England colours can match
Wiegman's numbers explain why the FA moved early. She took charge in September 2021 and within a year had delivered England's first major trophy at Euro 2022, then retained the title three years later. In between, she took the Lionesses to the 2023 World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand, where they finished runners-up to Spain.
Add the Euro 2017 title she won with her native Netherlands and Wiegman has reached five successive major tournament finals as a head coach — a run no manager in the women's game can match. She has been named FIFA's Best Women's Coach five times, and FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, quoted in Monday's FA media update, described her record in major tournaments as unparalleled. Her assistants Janneke Bijl and Arvid Smit and goalkeeper coach Darren Ward have also extended their deals to 2029, keeping the whole backroom team intact.
First job: get England to Brazil
The new deal does not remove the immediate pressure, because England have not yet qualified for the tournament the extension was partly signed to protect. The Lionesses face Ukraine in a two-legged play-off in November and December, with a place at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil at stake. Fail there and the shiny new contract runs straight into the biggest crisis of Wiegman's tenure; win, and she gets the runway she wants to rebuild the squad in her own image.
That rebuild is already under way. Wiegman used her statement to stress her work developing young players and coaches across the women's game — the pipeline that tournaments like the Under-17 World Cup, where Nigeria's Flamingos opened their campaign this month, feed into at senior level. England's next generation will be expected to be challenging for places long before Euro 2029.
What this means for the Lionesses
The so-what is stability at exactly the moment the club game is straining her players hardest. England's core plays its club football in a WSL calendar already producing injury crises — Arsenal Women are managing one right now — and a settled national-team coach who plans in four-year cycles is the FA's best protection against burnout and drift. It also shuts down the recurring speculation that has followed every England camp since the summer: Wiegman faced questions about her future before the recent play-off games against Greece and deflected them; now there is nothing left to deflect.
Beyond the Final Whistle: this is the FA doing the rarest thing in football — keeping the best coach it has ever had instead of gambling on change. Wiegman has turned England from nearly-team to serial finalists, and the only trophy missing from her run is the World Cup itself. The extension is a statement that the FA believes she is the person to go and win it in Brazil — and then defend Europe in 2029. The risk is not the coach; it is whether the squad's next generation arrives fast enough to keep her finals streak alive. Is Wiegman the right coach to finally win England the World Cup — or should the FA have planned a change after 2027? Tell us in the comments.
