It’s less than one weeks until the Women’s World Cup kicks off down under. With squads announced and teams raring to go, the excitement and apprehension is building for both players and fans. But if one thing has left us slightly deflated going into the summer, it’s the abundance of players that will miss the tournament through injury. Here are just a few players that miss out.
Leah Williamson
England captain Leah Williamson became set for a long spell on the sidelines after rupturing her ACL in April, in a game against Manchester United. Williamson led the Lionesses to a Euros triumph last summer, starting and playing every minute of the tournament. She’s gained so much experience in such a short amount of time, after playing just six minutes at the 2019 World Cup. If fit, she’d be wanting a different story this time around.
Williamson is a technical centre-back, epitomised by her long balls and range of passes. She went the whole Euros without having to make a single tackle. Her absence on the pitch has given opportunities for younger players such as Esme Morgan and Jess Carter to impress, although we’re likely to see the experienced Alex Greenwood to step in beside Millie Bright as that centre-back pairing. With Sarina Weigman sticking to her starting 11 throughout the Euros as she so often does, missing her first choice centre-back will cause a dilemma in defence. Leah Williamson is also a versatile player, eliminating a potential midfield switch as she can step further up the pitch too. The likes of Katie Zelem and Laura Coombs will be critical, if changes to midfield need to be made without Williamson as a choice.
As a captain, Leah Williamson is calm and composed. Her presence will be felt in the World Cup, as she demonstrated last summer how she can keep a whole team together and focused for an entire tournament. However she’s reiterated many times about how the squad is already full of natural leaders – it’s not simply down to one person. In Williamson’s absence, Millie Bright will instead captain the Lionesses this summer. She’s a different type of person and player, rather talking with her actions as opposed to being incredibly vocal on the pitch.
Becky Sauerbrunn
Like England, the US National Team also go into the World Cup without their usual captain Becky Sauerbrunn. The 38 year old Portland Thorns player suffered a foot injury in April, and despite one appearance at the start of June, remained sidelined and unnamed in the roster. Instead, Alex Morgan and Lindsay Horan will captain the USA throughout the competition.
Sauerbrunn would be a huge absence for the USA in any tournament, but especially this year with the amount of young talent in the squad. With 216 appearances for her national team, Sauerbrunn is a player that’s used to winning, having featured in America’s victories in the 2012 Olympics, and the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. Having that calmness in such pressurised moments and having the belief that you can win, is what has made the USA so successful for so many years. With younger players like Alyssa Thompson included in this World Cup squad, the responsibility to maintain this mindset falls onto other senior players, who will be sure to step up in Sauerbrunn’s absence.
Vivianna Miedema
Another huge presence that will be missed this summer is the Netherland’s frontwoman Vivianna Miedema. Miedema became Arsenal’s second victim to rupturing her ACL this season, in December in a Champion’s League game against Lyon. Seen by many as one of the greatest players in modern women’s football, she’s so prominent in this Netherlands team. She was part of the squad that won the Euros on home soil in 2019, and came second in the 2019 World Cup, and is the Netherland’s all-time top goal-scorer, aged just 26.
The Oranje now face a World Cup not only without their greatest goal weapon, but also without such a fundamental character in the squad. The team will have to rely on forwards such as Lieke Martens for those game-changing goals, but the equally difficult moments will be behind the scenes. Miedema has a huge dressing-room presence, not being afraid to speak up for herself and the rest of the squad. We’ve seen this season especially, her encouraging other players to protect their physical and mental health above football. For example, she asked for a leave of absence early in the season, and spoke out about the pressures of competing at such a high level.
Although she’s unable to play, Miedema is still hoping to have this same influence on the team- we’ve seen her integrating with the squad as they train ahead of departing to Australia. She’ll still have a huge role to play, on the pitch or not.
Beth Mead
England’s Beth Mead is yet another Arsenal player who tore their ACL this season, in November when playing against Manchester United. Losing such a crucial forward delt a crushing blow for England, but they still remained hopeful that Mead would be back for the summer. The World Cup was always on the cards, but in the end time just ran short, Wiegman deciding that it was too big of a risk, as the forward hadn’t stepped on the pitch since her injury. Despite describing the situation as a “tough pill to swallow”, Beth Mead called it a clever and ultimately right decision. Continuing her rehab over the summer, she’ll no doubt be selected for many tournaments to come.
Beth Mead caught the world’s eye last summer, being named player of the tournament and taking home the Golden Boot as a Euro-winning Lioness. She was a game-changer for many of England’s games, striking the back of the net to settle the team and help them relax into the game. With six goals and five assists in the six matches in the Euros, the Lionesses will certainly feel her absence this summer as Wiegman finds alternate ways to tally up the goals.
The good news for England is that they’re not short of attacking options. With Rachel Daly moving into the number nine role and Chloe Kelly having a full season under her belt after suffering a torn ACL herself, England seem to be comfortable up top. But they’re certainly not the same team without their most prominent goal-scorer.
Marie Antoinette Katoto
France are going into the World Cup without Marie Antoinette Katoto, who suffered a torn ACL in the 2022 Euros, in France’s game against Belgium. A huge loss for the forward, who was one of the favourites to take the Golden Boot at the tournament. Katoto in particular shows just how extensive these types of injuries can be. Over a year later, and she’s still cut short of time, manager Renard not wanting to risk any players who aren’t in full fitness.
The 24 year old PSG striker looks frightening on the international stage, becoming her club’s all-time top goal-scorer aged just 23. She’s an explosive finisher and a powerful dribbler, her physical strength able to hurt defences. However, she’s had bad luck with major tournaments, being left out of the 2019 World Cup squad, being injured for the Euros and now this World Cup. Luckily, there’s plenty of time for the young forward to showcase her full talent, in the years to come.
Fran Kirby
The Lionesses are also missing Fran Kirby this summer, after she was sidelined in February with a knee injury. Nearly three months down the line of rehab and after consulting with a specialist and Chelsea’s medical team, it was decided that Kirby would undergo an operation that would rule her out of the World Cup. Chelsea announced that they had tried every other option before surgery, and she would now be out for a “significant period”.
Kirby’s contributions to her national team have perhaps gone under the radar for a while now, especially for fans that are new to the game. Perhaps this is given her record of injury and illness over the last couple of years- most prominently, being diagnosed with pericarditis in 2019 which left her with extreme fatigue. It’s safe to say that many are underestimating how vast her absence will be. Her accolades speak for themselves- Women’s Player’s Player of the Year in 2018 and in 10th for the Ballon d’Or in 2021, to name a few. Kirby is a vital part of this England side, starting in all 6 games at the Euros. Her movement in the midfield area is unmatched, and she gives her team rhythm and technicality that they will miss this summer. She’s been a reliable source of goals too.
It’s been a challenge for Sarina Wiegman to find a solution to Kirby’s absence. We’ve mostly seen Ella Toone take that starting spot in midfield, rather than her role as a ‘super-sub’ that she played in the summer. Lauren James has also played in central midfield, and brings that same technicality and attacking threat. Statistically, Jordan Nobbs is the most similar player to Kirby, however with limited minutes with the team recently, it’s unlikely that we’ll see her consistently in that starting 11.
Giulia Gwinn
It’s been a tough road for Germany’s young fullback Giulia Gwinn, as she also misses out on the World Cup through her second ACL injury. She sustained the injury in 2020, and again in October 2022. The 24 year old Bayern Munich player looks to be a future star of her international side, already with 33 appearances. She’s already shown her full potential, representing Germany at the 2019 World Cup and being named Young Player of the Tournament.
To come back from one long-term injury is just as mentally challenging as it is physically, let alone twice. But for an injury that’s cut short the careers of so many athletes, it’s not worth risking one tournament when there’s plenty more to come for Gwinn.
Fellow Bayern Munich and Germany defender Carolin Simon joins Gwinn on the sidelines this summer after yet another ACL injury, this time against Zambia in a friendly game ahead of the World Cup.
Katie Rood
New Zealand’s Katie Rood would be looking forward to representing her country on home soil this summer. She also ruptured her ACL in April, coincidently the same time as Leah Williamson, playing for Hearts against Celtic. The 30 year old has played 15 games for her country since 2017, scoring 5 goals in this time. She would have been hoping to contribute this World Cup as New Zealand face a tough group stage against European competitors Norway and Switzerland- they have never got past the group stages before.
However, New Zealand aren’t short of forwards at the competition. It seems as though 31 year old Hannah Wilkinson will lead the attacking line, being the most experienced player in the squad, and is likely to be partnered by Jacqui Hand. They also have reinforcement on the bench, such as Gabi Rennie and Paige Satchell. Despite this, it’s still sad to see injury take away the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent your national team on home turf.
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