Sarina Wiegman has announced her England squad to compete at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer. A 23-strong Lionesses team will travel down under in their pursuit of just their second ever major trophy.
Chelsea’s Millie Bright will captain her country in the absence of Leah Williamson, who is ruled out with an ACL injury. Euro 2022 stars Mary Earps, Chloe Kelly, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo have all received call-ups along with veterans Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood.
You can find Wiegman’s full England World Cup roster right here.
Of course, with every international tournament comes disappointment — some deserving players are guaranteed to miss out. With that being said, here’s a look at some of the names who didn’t make the final England list.
Manchester United omissions
While four players from Manchester United have been selected in Earps, Toone, Russo, and Katie Zelem, a glaring few have also been left out. Despite a strong domestic season for the Reds, and being part of the Euro 2022 squad, Nikita Parris didn’t make the cut.
Surprisingly, although United conceded the least amount of goals in the Women’s Super League this season, none of their defenders made it onto the list either. Calls for chances to be taken on Millie Turner and Hannah Blundell fell on deaf ears, and many fans are scratching their heads over the omission of Maya Le Tissier.
The 21-year-old is on standby and could be called up if there is an injury, but she has not been included in Wiegman’s main squad. Reds goalkeeper Emily Ramsey, who spent the season on loan with Everton, is also out of the picture.
Injury woes
Sadly for those who followed England’s fairytale Euro 2022 triumph, three key players in Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and captain Williamson will not be part of this World Cup journey.
The two Arsenal stars are currently recovering from ACL injuries. Mead was in a race against the clock to be fit in time for the summer, but Wiegman was never going to take the risk. As for Williamson, she still has some recovery to go. Kirby was also ruled out of World Cup contention earlier this year as she requires surgery on a knee injury.
A legend misses out
With Williamson out, many thought this would be the perfect opportunity for Steph Houghton to return to her England duties. The long-serving former skipper missed the Euros due to an achilles injury and the squad has now evolved without her.
Houghton has been left off Wiegman’s roster and she is not part of the standby list either, despite her 121 caps and invaluable experience playing at three World Cups previously.
