Replacing captain Leah Williamson and weighing up Beth Mead’s fitness will be top of Sarina Wiegman’s priorities when she finalises her World Cup squad.
England’s 23-player group will be confirmed on Wednesday 31 May at 2pm, with just 50 days until the tournament in Australia and New Zealand begins.
Wiegman has largely been a creature of habit and is unlikely to spring too many surprises, but she has been forced into a rethink by a string of injuries.
Indeed when England kick off their group stage against Haiti in Brisbane, they could field as few as four of their European Championship-winning XI.
Ending Houghton’s exile
Williamson’s torn ACL not only means the armband will have to be passed on but leaves England light at centre-back, with Millie Bright missing the end of the season with a knee problem. The Chelsea defender is at least set to recover in time for the World Cup.
There is one obvious solution waiting out in the cold: former captain Steph Houghton, whose form helped City recover from a poor start to the WSL season to only miss out on Champions League qualification on goal difference.
Yet Houghton has been vocal in her frustrations at her ongoing exile under Wiegman and that is unlikely to have done her any favours despite her experience.
More likely is Lotte Wubben-Moy, who has already been tasked with replacing Williamson at Arsenal and who returned to the squad in April to step in for Bright. Manchester United’s Maya Le Tissier will also be involved.
Recalling Beth England
The WSL’s most expensive British player has done everything she can to earn a recall, having kept Tottenham up almost single-handedly with 14 goals and one assist – bettering the tallies of both Sam Kerr and Alessia Russo.
What counts against her is that she fell out of Wiegman’s thinking while warming the bench at Chelsea and now has both Russo and Rachel Daly to compete with.
Daly’s impact at No 9
As the WSL’s Golden Boot winner, Daly will now be playing in attack for England, rather than at left-back where she played throughout the Euros.
That does mean weighing up whether to start Daly or Russo in between England’s two wide players as part of a front three – and tellingly, Wiegman has largely opted for Russo this season.
Beth Mead’s fitness
Mead is not likely to be part of that attack, however, and while Wiegman has stressed she will give the Arsenal forward every opportunity to prove her fitness after her own torn ACL, she also said it would require a “miracle” for her to recover in time.
Mead believes she is ahead of schedule but would be going into the tournament without any minutes since November.
England’s midfield conundrum
Fran Kirby also lost her race to be fit in time for the World Cup after requiring knee surgery. It is unclear what her international future holds but there is arguably no midfielder more difficult to replace in terms of her creativity.
Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Keira Walsh will all be included, which leaves three other slots to fill. Jordan Nobbs has bounced back from her prolonged injury struggles at Arsenal with Aston Villa and there will almost certainly be a space for Laura Coombs too, following her call-up in February.
That was the first time she had played for England since 2015 when Mark Sampson was still in charge. Manchester United captain Katie Zelem is in contention, though Manchester City’s Jess Park – who spent the season on loan at Everton – would be the more attacking option.
Gambling on fringe players
There is limited manoeuvre for fringe players in attack too, but Brighton’s Katie Robinson and Houston Dash’s Ebony Salmon have been given opportunities this calendar year.
Wiegman is inevitably going to have to lean on some relatively green fringe players. Chelsea’s Niamh Charles is the most appealing in defence given she can play in several positions across a back four – and England will be reluctant to rely on too few full-backs especially with Daly playing up front.
That has rocketed Aston Villa left-back Maz Pacheco up the list, though Manchester City’s Esme Morgan and West Ham’s Lucy Parker are also fighting Everton’s Gabby George and Manchester United’s Hannah Blundell for spots on the plane.
Hampton’s role
England need a third-choice goalkeeper behind Mary Earps and Ellie Roebuck after Sandy MacIver announced she had “made herself unavailable for selection” while she continues injury rehab.
Hannah Hampton would naturally be the go-to stopper in her place but Manchester United’s Emily Ramsey – who like Park spent the 2022-23 campaign at Everton – is another option.
Hampton was part of the squad for the most recent international break but it does not feel so long ago that she was dropped and rumours surfaced about her “attitude”. Wiegman later clarified that the door remained open to her and can reiterate her faith in the Aston Villa goalkeeper on Wednesday.
England’s probable squad
Goalkeepers: Earps, Roebuck, Hampton
Defenders: Bronze, Bright, Wubben-Moy, Greenwood, Carter, Le Tissier, Charles, Morgan
Midfielders: Walsh, Stanway, Toone, Nobbs, Coombs, Park
Forwards: Russo, Daly, James, Kelly, Hemp, Robinson
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