Wiegman was captain of Jonker’s Dutch team and they have been friends for almost 30 years.
“It’s always special because we’re friends. Usually when we wish friends, we wish them all the best, but as athletes we want to beat the latter,” Jonker said.
“We want to win. This means you have to hurt your friend. But we are both on the same side and mutual respect will not change.
“We met after the draw. I told her, “Did you ever think we would be standing here together?” Our history dates back to the 1990s.
“Now we are here on stage and we will play together in the European Championship. This is a special moment.”
Jonker said “the winner of Group D can win the whole tournament” and former Lioness Anita Asante is backing England to have the tools to defend their title.
“I don’t understand why not. “Anything is possible in tournament football,” Asante said when asked if England could reach the top in Switzerland.
“It all depends on how you lead your journey, how you deal with expectations and pressure in the most important moments, and who takes advantage of these critical moments.
This is football. You can be the best team, play the best football and you can lose. I think England knows this.
“Many of them are already used to being in the finals. We won the final, we reached the World Cup final – they will be ready for the challenge.”
