England boss Sarina Wiegman has named her squad for the Lionesses' upcoming internationals against Brazil and Australia.
With only a few months to go before the Women's World Cup gets underway in Australia and New Zealand, Wiegman will use this international window to consolidate which 23 players will be on the plane as England bid to add the most coveted prize in football to their EURO 2022 trophy.
The Lionesses will ramp up their preparations for this summer's showpiece event when they host Brazil in the inaugural Women's Finalissima on April 6. The reigning Copa América Femenina champions are ranked ninth in the world and will likely prove stern opposition as England bid to make it 30 games unbeaten under Wiegman in front of 89,000 fans at Wembley.
England will then travel to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium, where they will take on World Cup co-hosts Australia in aid of The FA’s charity partner, the Alzheimer’s Society. The Matildas lifted the 2023 Cup of Nations earlier this year and are widely tipped to be one of the best performers at this summer's tournament, with prolific Chelsea striker Sam Kerr certain to prove a handful for the England defence when the two sides face off on April 11.
Announcing her 25-player squad at St. George’s Park on Tuesday, Wiegman has largely stuck with the squad that successfully defended the Arnold Clark Cup on home soil back in February with victories against Korea Republic, Italy and Belgium.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and Manchester City defender Esme Morgan return to the fold, while the uncapped Lucy Parker is also recalled and will hope to make her senior debut after injury caused her to withdraw from last October’s matches.
Dropping out from February’s squad is injured Everton goalkeeper Emily Ramsey along with Lotte Wubben-Moy, Katie Zelem and Ebony Salmon.
“We are getting closer to the World Cup and I can’t think of two better games to assess our progress," Wiegman said, looking ahead to the upcoming international break. "After these games, there will be less than three months until we fly to the tournament and we must make every second on and off the pitch count.
“For us as a technical staff this will be the last chance to see the players within our England environment before we come together for the final preparation phase in June. And these two matches will be two real tests to see where we are at."
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers:
Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa, Sandy MacIver (Manchester City), Ellie Roebuck(Manchester City)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lucy Parker (West Ham United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)
Midfielders:
Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Jess Park (Everton, loan from Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona)
Forwards:
Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Manchester United)
