ENGLAND manager Sarina Wiegman has named her 23-woman squad for this year’s World Cup.
Wiegman has made seven changes to last year’s European Championship winning squad.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup – which will take place in Australia and New Zealand – is set to kick off on July 20.
England’s first match, against Haiti, is scheduled for July 22.
The Lionesses are also set to face China and Denmark in the group stages.
Mary Earps, Hannah Hampton and Ellie Roebuck remain the 53-year-old’s preferred goalkeepers.
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Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Alex Greenwood, Millie Bright and Lotte Wubben-Moy keep their respective places along with midfielders Kiera Walsh, Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway.
England’s attacking options include; Bethany England, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly – who claimed the WSL Golden Boot award at the weekend.
Daly, who started all six of England’s Euro 2022 games as a left-back, signed for Aston Villa last summer and enjoyed an impressive 2022-23 campaign in the No.9 role, scoring 22 times and equalling Vivianne Miedema’s record for the most goals scored in a single WSL season.
Lauren James is set to make her first appearance at a major tournament following her successful season with Chelsea, as is Esme Morgan, Niamh Charles, Katie Zelem, Laura Coombs and Katie Robinson.
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Jordan Nobbs returns to the squad after missing out on Euro 2022 due to a knee injury.
England captain Leah Williamson was ruled out of the tournament in April after sustaining a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
She is set to pass the captain’s armband to vice skipper Bright.
Beth Mead – Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament – has also missed out on a spot in the squad due to an ACL injury she sustained in November.
Earlier this month, the 28-year-old revealed that she was hopeful of earning a place in the squad despite missing a large chunk of the season.
She told Sky Sports: “The injury’s okay, I’m a good five months in and back on the pitch and kicking a ball again, feeling good, ahead of schedule. That’s all I can do that’s in my control right now.
“I wouldn’t say I’m confident [of going to the World Cup] because it’s out of my control, but I’m working hard to get as close to it as possible – but at the end of the day, it’s probably going to be Sarina’s decision.”
However, Wiegman believes the tournament comes too soon for the Arsenal star.
Chelsea midfielder Fran Kirby is also set to miss out on the tournament.
The 29-year-old was ruled out for a “significant” period earlier this month after it was revealed that she required knee surgery.
When naming her chosen squad, Wieman 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 22 July. We will do
everything to be at our very best again this summer.
“It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready.
“We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the EURO last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.”
Steph Houghton, Maya Le Tissier and Nikita Parris narrowly miss out on a spot in the squad.
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Le Tissier has been named on the standby list along with Jess Park and goalkeeper Emily Ramsey.
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.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
