England Women’s World Cup 2023 squad announced: Beth Mead left out but Jordan Nobbs returns

May 31, 2023 Sports 5 Views

The England squad for the Women’s World Cup 2023 has been announced, with manager Sarina Wiegman revealing the 23 players she has selected to travel to Australia and New Zealand.

England travel to the tournament in July and August as the European champions, and are among the favourites to go all the way and lift the World Cup on August 20 in Sydney.

Wiegman has selected 16 players who won the Euros less than 12 months ago, with six set to feature in their first international tournament at senior level. They include Niamh Charles, Laura Coombs, Lauren James, Esme Morgan, Katie Robinson and Katie Zelem.

Meanwhile, Seven players in the squad for the summer tournament – Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Mary Earps, Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh – all featured four years ago, when England reached the semi-finals in France, while Jordan Nobbs returns for her second World Cup appearance, after missing out in 2019.

Millie Bright will captain the side.

Wiegman 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 Euros 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.”

With star names such as Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby all ruled out of the tournament through injury, Wiegman admits she had some difficult decisions to make, with Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park and Emily Ramsey all named on standby. The trio will train with the squad at St. George’s Park, with the former two players travelling to Australia on July 5 and remaining up until the opening game.

“It’s 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,” Wiegman said.

“I’m very happy that we have such a professional group. I must also pay tribute to the staff for their dedication and commitment to helping us be the best we can be in Australia.”

Kicking off their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Brisbane on Saturday 22 July, England then face games against Denmark and China in a bid to progress to the knockout stages.