England head coach Sarina Wiegman has named a 24-player squad for their October FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Latvia.
Following England’s 8-0 victory over North Macedonia and 10-0 triumph away to Luxembourg, England continue to target qualification for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
England face Group D opponents Northern Ireland in their first ever competitive fixture at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 23 October [kick-off: 5:15pm BST], before travelling to Riga to face Latvia at the Daugava Stadium on 26 October [kick-off: 6:30pm BST / 8:30pm EET].
Wiegman’s second squad since joining England sees the return of Aston Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and Manchester United forward Alessia Russo, whilst Manchester City’s Keira Walsh also makes a welcome return to international duty following injury. England are without senior internationals Lucy Bronze, Steph Houghton and Ellie Roebuck as they continue their return to fitness.
Youngsters Jessica Carter, Niamh Charles, Lauren Hemp, Sandy McIver, Ella Toone, and Lotte Wuben-Moy have all retained their place in Wiegman’s youthful squad.
Ballon d’Or nominee Ellen White, who was shortlisted for the prestigious award alongside her England teammate Fran Kirby, is close to breaking England Women’s goalscoring record, requiring four goals to surpass Kelly Smith’s record of 46.
Head coach Sarina Wiegman said: “After a wonderful start to our World Cup qualifying campaign last month, we are incredibly excited to play our first competitive fixture at Wembley Stadium.
“The incredible atmosphere our supporters generated at St Mary’s Stadium for our match against North Macedonia gave our players and staff a tremendous lift, so the prospect of playing in front of thousands of fans at our national stadium later this month will be a special moment.
“Northern Ireland have made strong progress in recent years, qualifying earlier this year for the 2022 home UEFA Women’s EURO. On top of that, their recent 4-0 victory over Latvia shows the strength of their team and their determination to qualify for the World Cup.
“I can’t wait to get back together with our squad this weekend. Every player showed great ability and the collective positivity and ambition within the group was fantastic to see. We do still have one or two injuries to key players to contend with, but the depth in our squad is very strong.
“We hope to give our supporters more reasons to celebrate this month as we continue our progress towards qualification.”
The Lionesses meet up at England’s St. George’s Park base this Sunday before making the journey to London ahead of their historic competitive fixture at Wembley Stadium.
Fans can purchase tickets for England v Northern Ireland (Saturday 23 October, kick off: 5:15pm BST) by visiting TheFA.com/tickets. Tickets are priced from £20 for adults and £2.50 for children. Concessions and group discounts are also available.
England Women’s squad
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Sandy MacIver (Everton)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Jessica Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Jill Scott (Manchester City), Lucy Staniforth (Manchester United), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Keira Walsh (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards: Bethany England (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Nikita Parris (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Ellen White (Manchester City)
