Lionesses are inspired by Phil Neville's exhausting philosophy of New England | Soccer

For a coach whose team had just won their opening game of the World Cup, Phil Neville looked distinctly unhappy. In a revealing cameo, he gathered the English players in a group after the appearance, looking distinctly severe, almost scary, as he deconstructed a disappointing performance in the second half in a ruthlessly admonitory manner.

It does not matter that the Lionesses beat Scotland 2-1 in Nice, which put them ahead of Group D as they prepared for Friday night's game against Argentina in Le Havre – they had moved away from the motto of their coach.

Philosophy is a loaded word in football. Some coaches hate him and others love it, but that's important for Neville, whose mission is to transform England, which goes from calculating anti-practical to pragmatic, to flowing stylists, monopolizers of bullets, respectful of principles and attackers. since they arrived at the post.

Considering that England reached the semi-finals of the last World Cup and European Championship before it was set up, tearing up a successful project and trying to do it again is a brave gesture, but Neville does not really do half-measures .

"We have a good relationship with Phil," said Chelsea playmaker Fran Kirby. "We know the expectations that he has and that, if we do not provide what he wants, we will be told.We must make sure to fix it against Argentina."

Neville's problem is that, for many of his team-mates, the old style of England remains the default mode they use when they are tired or lose control of their matches, as was the case in the past. Nice humidity Sunday night.

Given that this is the first major tournament that the Lionesses have faced since the pbadage of the English national game to a winter season, the philosophical transition could become an increasingly controversial subject if the team goes further in tournament.

"The style of play is different now," says Kirby. "Before, it was focused on the long ball. It was: "Make sure you are in better shape than everyone else when you run after the ball." We now use our physical form in another way.

"Under the brand [Sampson, Neville’s predecessor] We had this thing: "Be the most fit team." Now we are more aware of how we play. The training volume is more touch to the ball, more possession. It's a more technical job. This is probably the biggest difference. "

Up to now everything is fine, but the last two tournaments were held in the mid-season of the English national program, indicating that the Lionesses have enjoyed a long physical preparation, including camps of 39, warm weather training before Canada 2015 and Euro 2017. last tournament in the Netherlands in the heart of the heat of Valencia.

This time, the players' club commitments meant that Neville's only comparable exercise was a trip to Doha in January, when the weather was significantly colder than that of Nice, where Kirby said that England had "lost legs "in the second half. In addition, the England manager has canceled most of the scheduled training sessions in Qatar, preferring to let his players rest and focus on liaison exercises, including a camping trip in the desert.

Keira Walsh remains indifferent. Manchester City's defensive midfielder appeared under Neville and is adamant: she's not exhausted by the campaign behind her. "I do not think players think about the long season we have just lived," she says, relaxing in the team's new training base amidst distinguished charms and the restorative serenity of Deauville on the Normandy coast. "We are at a World Cup, I do not think anyone thinks about the number of games he has played or how tired he is, we are all ready to win the World Cup."

Many managers talk about their team playing in Barcelona only to give in to a serious compromise when they meet technically confident opponents, but Neville is a big believer in courage and calculated risk, and he is not inclined to turn around.

As a result, Walsh does not expect any flip-flops. "Phil always tells us to stay calm and keep the ball and play the pbades," she said. "He has this thing where he says 'rondos'. This echoes, like playing short pbades, keeping the ball. I think we will always try to do that.

"We have our tactics and Phil will always stay with them. Obviously no team has complete control for 90 minutes and there will be times when you will be under pressure and play a little longer, but overall the style will remain the same. We know what we are good at – and this helps to keep possession of the ball and create chances with that possession.

Critics pointed out that Scotland's goal in Nice came after a rare mistake by Steph Houghton, England's captain, at a time when she was probably trying to play too much at the back. Walsh admits that an overtaking-based approach can sometimes be mentally exhausting, but still sees a bigger picture. "I think it's mentally tiring," she admits. "It's more tiring mentally than physically. We must think about positioning ourselves, putting our bodies on the U-turn and entering pockets of space.

"But if you let the balloon do the work, you will save physical energy. Although the pbading game is mentally tiring, physically, it's a lot easier than chasing the ball, so we'll stick to Phil's style. We are confident in what we are capable of. "