England vs Germany. UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Final. Photo credit: James Whitehead (Sporting Her / All rights reserved)
Sarina Wiegman has announced her 23 player squad who will be travelling to Australia in July to represent England in the Women’s World Cup.
The tournament is set to be one of the biggest to date. England’s first game on July 22nd against Haiti to start their group stage campaign. The Lionesses then have 6 days before their second group stage fixture against Denmark on July 28th. Their final fixture of the group being China on August 1st. With a successful tournament last summer lifting their first major trophy and ranked 4th in the world, England are one of the favourites to win.
Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Mary Earps, Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh are all named, having also been part of the squad that reached the 2019 World Cup semi-finals. Selected are 16 of the squad who won UEFA EURO 2022 while Niamh Charles, Laura Coombs, Lauren James, Esme Morgan, Katie Robinson and Katie Zelem will all be playing at their first major tournament. England captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead will all miss out on the finals because of injuries.
Wiegman said:
“I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia. We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22nd July. We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.”
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Three key players that will play a huge role for England this summer
Keira Walsh being selected was a no brainer. A consistent member of the England squad who calms and controls the game. Arguably England’s most valued player given her skillset in the base of midfield. She was awarded player of the match in the Euro final last summer, and Barcelona signed her onto the team for a record-breaking fee.
England’s No.1, Mary Earps picked up goalkeeper of the year at the FIFA best awards last month. Earps was another one of England’s standout performers at the Euros last summer and with the talent faced from other teams, Earps will play a key role in keeping England in the tournament.
Rachel Daly, who played left back at last summers tournament, now listed as a forward for this summer. Daly has had an incredible season in the WSL with 22 goals winning her the golden boot and WSL player of the season. It’s about time that she is recognised in a position that best suits her abilities on the pitch.
Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby and will train with the squad when they report to St. George’s Park in June. Ramsey will leave the group prior to departure for Australia. Le Tissier and Park will join the group in travelling to Australia on 5 July for the final preparation phase of the tournament, remaining up to the opening match against Haiti on 22 July.
Wiegman added:
“It is always tough to leave some players out of the squad, but they know they could still be needed if we have any issues before we start the tournament. I am very happy that we have such a professional group.”
Now that the England squad has been announced, the excitement begins!
Written by Louise Quirke
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