By Ben Tattoo (25/11/25)
Above: England’s Lionesses training at St. George’s Park. Photo: Lindsay Cook for Impetus.
England’s homecoming series concludes with games against China and Ghana next week. With friendlies a rare chance to experiment, Sarina Wiegman’s latest squad contains new names who are untested on the senior international stage.
“We have a lot of talent”, said Wiegman about new players joining the set up before the next World Cup, adding that “it’s going to be hard to make the squad”.
With Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson and Michelle Agyemang all out injured, and Jess Carter left out to recover from the NWSL play-off weekend, Wiegman’s latest squad has nine players with two caps or less to their name.
Lauren James has also been left out after only just returning from injury, with Wiegman naming Freya Godfrey in the group for the first time. There are nine different WSL teams represented in the latest squad.
For fans outside of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, the inclusions of Godfrey, Anouk Denton, Lucia Kendall, Sophie Baggely and Grace Fisk may bring some welcome variety and recognition to their teams.
There were no WSL players from teams outside of the top four in Wiegman’s final squad that went onto lift the Euro 2025 trophy. To see more WSL teams represented this time out is refreshing and exciting – and arguably shows that the league has developed to a point where the big four are not as dominant.
Here is a closer look at the players trying to catch Wiegman’s eye this time out.
Anouk Denton – West Ham
Denton was a late call up to the squad for the first part of the homecoming series to provide cover at fullback. She provides versatility and quality in all areas of the pitch and can play full back or wing back on both sides.
Her performances did not go unnoticed last season, and she was shortlisted for the Young Player of the Year award at the prestigious Women’s Football Awards as well as playing for England Under 23’s.
This season she has become an even more important figure in the Hammers’ line up, and has flourished in a wide midfield position, having an excellent game off the left-hand side versus Leicester and scoring when playing off the right-hand side versus Everton.
Denton ranks highly for tackles per 90 minutes (3.3) and also for successful take ons compared to other fullbacks across the top nine women’s leagues for the past year, according to FbREF.
Her ability to run at players and stretch opposition defences has really caught the eye in recent weeks.
Freya Godfrey – London City Lionesses
Godfrey perhaps gave hints that this could be a special season in a pre-season friendly against OL Lyonnes. Picking up the ball on the left-hand side, she drove infield with purpose before unleashing a rocket of a shot that flew into the net from 40 yards out.
Since then she has notched two goals and two assists in her past two WSL matches as London City Lionesses climbed to sixth place in the table.
Godfrey’s ability to cross and shoot with both feet has particularly stood out in recent weeks – with four goal contributions in 296 minutes over five games, she has a strong 1.21 goal contributions per 90 minutes, putting her amongst the best in the league.
Wiegman was full of praise for Godfrey in her press conference, “I think she brings something different, a young player of course, she was very excited. So, I’m excited to see what she can bring in our squad.”
Whether Godfrey get’s her chance on the left or the right, remains to be seen. As she has shown this season, she doesn’t need much time to make an impression in games.
Grace Fisk – Liverpool
Fisk has been a mainstay in the WSL since 2019, when she joined West Ham and later Liverpool in the summer of 2023, making close to 150 appearances across the two teams. She was first called into the England squad in 2020 but has yet to make a senior appearance.
Like Denton and Godfrey, she offers Wiegman some strong versatility, with her ability to play right back, as well as her preferred position in central defence. Fisk was made Liverpool captain at the start of the 2025-26 season.
Despite Liverpool’s early season struggles, she has been a consistently strong performer. Her composure and ability on the ball suits Taylor’s possession-based side who, like Denton’s West Ham have showed improvement over the past few weeks.
Fisk also ranks joint second in the league for interceptions (16), compared to other WSL centre backs. With so many injuries in that position for England, she could well start against either China or Ghana.
Lucia Kendall – Aston Villa
Kendall is the only player out of the five who has made an senior appearance for the Lionesses after her impressive performance against Australia last time out, winning player of the match.
Kendall looked confident next to Keira Walsh playing in the double pivot role and barely put a foot wrong. Her stats from the game tell the story of what an all-round performer she can be.
After the game, Kendall also won Wiegman’s plaudits: “She came in our environment and even though we didn’t have that many training sessions, straight away you saw her understanding and reading of the game,” praised the England manager.
She has seen a mesmeric climb to the international stage having only started playing in England’s top league since the summer but has quickly looked at home in the WSL after signing for Aston Villa from Southampton.
Kendall, like her teammate Missy Bo-Kearns, will be hoping for more game time against China and Ghana, as she looks to cement her place in the England squad before the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Sophie Baggaley – Brighton
Baggely may be the least likely to get on the pitch out of our featured five but will provide competition for Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse for a starting spot in goal, with Hampton injured.
Baggely had a decent season for Brighton in 2024-2025 but has lost her starting role to Chiamaka Nnadozie this season. She has, however, featured in all four of Brighton’s league cup games this campaign.
A strong shot stopper, Baggely ranked third for average saves per 90 minutes in the WSL last season with 3.9. She will be an able deputy if called into action for club or country this season.
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