by Morganna King at Wembley Stadium for Impetus (13/9/23)
Above: England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who announced her squad for the Lionesses’ forthcoming matches this afternoon. Photo: Suvadeep Biswas.
Ahead of the 2023 Nations League group stages commencing in just over a week’s time, England women’s manager Sarina Wiegman announced her 24-player squad to take on Belgium, the Netherlands, and Scotland after an eventful summer over in Australia.
Once again Lionesses captain Leah Williamson has missed out on selection due to her ACL injury. Following on from the Women’s World Cup, Chelsea captain and England Vice Captain Millie Bright steps up to fill the role.
Keira Walsh also misses out on this break’s squad with what is described as a “small calf injury” by the England manager and has nothing to do with the injury she sustained in the World Cup after being forced to come off against Denmark.
Lucy Staniforth re-enters the squad to take her place. She was listed as one of the reserves for the Lionesses’ squad before they jetted off to Australia but dropped out due to injury. Jess Park and Maya Le Tissier also step back into the squad after travelling to Australia to train with the squad pre World Cup. “They did really well, they’ve been great team players” Wiegman voiced.
Questions were raised about the notable absences of Beth Mead and Fran Kirby as they are both beginning their return from injury and are training amongst their respective clubs. “In their mind, they’re ready to go” Wiegman added. Unfortunately with them playing so few minutes and there being so much talent amongst the Lionesses, there isn’t a place available for them at this moment in time but Wiegman is adamant that they will have their chance to prove themselves for upcoming camps.
It was no doubt a difficult task for Wiegman to pick this squad prior to the commencement of the Women’s Super League which is where the majority of the England squad play. The Lionsses boss describes the situation as “such a short turnaround” in relation to the small gap in between the likes of the World Cup, club pre-season, Champions League qualifiers, and now the Nations League campaign.
When asked about the short break between the World Cup and the current international break Sarina commented: “Yes I am very worried, players need some rest too”. One of the main concerns around this scheduling issue is the fact that “some players only had six days off”.
“You want to perform at the highest level with the team, it’s so intense- players are not robots. The game is developing so quickly therefore you run into problems that you need to find solutions about quickly”.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Bethany England failed to make the cut in this month’s squad due to injury after fighting to make an appearance in the World Cup. This comes after she had surgery on her hip on the 6th September which was also described as an “ongoing issue”.
The Nations League format allows qualification for competitions such as the Olympics and the Women’s World Cup. This creates a tricky situation for England’s Nations League group as losing to Scotland would mean Team GB fails to qualify for the Olympics.
The Lionesses are drawn into Group A of the Nations League meaning they will face Belgium who they played in the Arnold Clark Cup this year, Netherlands whom England boss Sarina Wiegman used to coach, and Scotland who they have historical rivalry.
When asked about Scotland as an opposition Wiegman commented “They’ve had some impressive results”. She also spoke about how there are many familiar players amongst the opposition squad as many of them play in the Women’s Super League.
A pressing issue of the implementation of the Nations League format into women’s football is not only the scheduling but the fact that all games play internationally are now important. “Players need to be ready to step up” is Wiegman’s view on the situation due to the fact that some players will have fewer minutes if the entire squad is fully fit. Despite this, she views it as a positive which brings opportunities for winning more trophies as well as unpredictability and competitiveness.
England’s first game of their Nations League campaign kicks off on the 22nd September against Scotland at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
LIONESSES SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps, Hannah Hampton, Ellie Roebuck.
Defenders: Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy
Midfielders: Laura Coombs, Jordan Nobbs, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Katie Zelem
Forwards: Rachel Daly, Jess Park, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Katie Robinson.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. DON’T MISS our brand new TikTok platform @ImpetusFootball too!
impetusfootball.org 