Leah Williamson and Lauren James have been named in Salina Wigman’s England 25-man squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
The pair returned from injury to be included in the squad for games against Ukraine and Iceland, but had not featured for the Lionesses since Euro 2025, while goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and defenders Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood returned after not being part of November’s experimental squad.
London City Lionesses defender Poppy Pattinson has earned her first senior call-up, but Wiegman has had a number of injury problems.
Arsenal’s trio of Beth Mead, Katie Reid and Michel Agyemang, Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone, Chelsea left-back Niamh Charles and Aston Villa’s Missy Beau Kearns are all ruled out.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck has been given priority over Chiara Keating and will be included in the England Under-23s squad, with Wiegman having “huge concerns” over his lack of playing time at Manchester City this season.
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Sky Sports News’ Anton Troy summarizes Sarina Wigman’s press conference and announces England’s 25-man squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
england women’s national team
Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride), Ellie Roebuck (Aston Villa).
Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotha), Grace Fisk (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Man City), Taylor Hynes (Arsenal), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Poppy Pattinson (London City Lionesses), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Uben Moy (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Laura Blindkilde Brown (Man City), Grace Clinton (Man City), Lucia Kendall (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Keira Walsh (Chelsea).
Forwards: Aggie Beaver-Jones (Chelsea), Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Lauren Hemp (Man City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Jess Park (Manchester United), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
Wiegmann: “England’s team is having a difficult time due to injuries”
Wiegman was successful in bringing back his most experienced players, but admitted that it was difficult to keep the team together due to the number of injuries.
“It’s a bit confusing at the moment, but at the same time I think we have enough players in the team to have a good game and I think we’ll have players on the pitch who are healthy and can perform at the highest level,” she said.
“We will spend this week at their club and then they will come to us and we will have proper time to prepare for the game on Tuesday (March 3). We will see how far we get, but I am confident that we will have a good team on the pitch.”
Williamson’s return comes after making just one start in Arsenal’s Women’s Super League this season, but Wiegmann is confident the centre-back is still one of the best players to choose from.
“I’m very happy and it feels very good for her as well. She really wanted to come back, but next week we have some more players coming back so we’re looking forward to that,” Wiegman said.
“She is training, I am in close contact with her, I am in close contact with the club and she is in a good situation, but for sure, she is short on time a little bit.
“Some of the other players are still in the facility or haven’t gotten the minutes we would have liked. That’s one of the reasons why we’re going with a bigger squad and we have time to get together before we prepare for the Ukraine game. I still think they’re the best players to call up.”
Wiegmann: Let’s get qualified first and then we can talk about contracts.
Wiegmann is under contract until the end of the 2027 World Cup and will want to make sure England qualify for Brazil before discussing his future.
“There is no update,” she said. “The World Cup is quite far away. We are always talking, but both sides are still very happy.”
“We’re serious about getting this qualification right now. We want to qualify, but the best way is to get it done in June. That’s what we’re aiming for, so let’s get that done first.”
england women’s world cup qualifiers
March 3: Ukraine (a), Mardan Stadium, Türkiye – 5 p.m.
March 7: Iceland (h), The City Ground – 12.30pm
April 14: Spain (time), Wembley – 7pm
April 18: Iceland (a), TBC
June 5: Spain (a), TBC
June 9: Ukraine (h), TBA
