Sarina Wiegman to announce the 23 player FIFA WWC Lionesses squad tomorrow

Tomorrow at 2pm, Sarina Wiegman will name her 23-player squad for this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to be the biggest women’s football tournament yet. The tournament begins on July 20^th and with the final at Stadium Australia on August 20^th.

The #FIFAWWC 2023 Groups are set! 🙌

Which one is the most exciting? 😁 #BeyondGreatness

— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) February 23, 2023

England will be one of the favourites to win this summer’s World Cup after their success at the European Championship in 2022, beating Germany 2-1 to lift their first major international title in front of a home crowd at Wembley. England will be without both Ellen White and Jill Scott who retired from professional football in August after their success. England are also without their captain Leah Williamson and player of the tournament/golden boot winner Beth Mead who both suffered ACL injuries with their club. Williamson will be difficult to replace both in terms of her leadership and quality on the pitch. The Lionesses will also be without Fran Kirby, due to a knee injury, and Sandy Maclver in order for her to focus on her rehab from a groin injury back in April. But despite this Sarina still has an incredibly strong squad to choose from.

The Lionesses. England vs Germany. UEFA Women's Euro 2022 Final. — *England vs Germany. UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Final. Photo credit: James Whitehead for Sporting Her (All Rights Reserved).*

England will face Haiti (22^nd July), Denmark (28^th July), China (1^st August) in the group stages. The tournament will be broadcast live on BBC and ITV in the UK, as well as on streaming services ITVX and iPlayer. England are European Champions, beat Brazil in the first ever Women’s Finalissima and have won 27 out of 31 games under Sarina Wiegman. And a win over the USA back in October suggests that despite the injuries, England are still in contention to lift the trophy.

The Lionesses Euro legacy wish was achieved earlier this year with the decision to provide girls with an equal access to football in schools from in response to a letter signed by all 23 Lionesses post historic Euro win to the government. Kevin Shoemark, Birmingham County FA’s CEO has said:

“Following the success of the Women’s Euros, the interest and growth in women’s football is at an all time high locally and nationally.” On International Women’s Day 2023, the UK government announced that equal access to football will be provided for schoolgirls. The letter voiced the belief from the squad on how to ensure that both girls and boys have access to the same level of sport in schools. This now means that schools are expected to provide a minimum of 2 hours of PE per week and must ensure that girls have the same opportunities in all sports, including football.