The Story
Sarina Weigman has named her 25 player squad for the upcoming matches in April.
The squad sees the return of both Hannah Hampton and Jordan Nobbs after their successful recent performance for Aston Villa.
It also sees the exclusion of Ebony Salmon and Emily Ramsey, who withdrew from the previous squad with injury.
Context
The Lionesses are facing Brazil at Wembley on the 6th, in the inaugural women’s Finalissima before facing World Cup hosts Australia on 10th April.
England are currently in an era of unprecedented success; they are unbeaten in 29 games under Weigman.
This is the last squad announcement before Sarina officially selecting her squad for the World Cup which kicks off in July.
The announcement sees Rachel Daly named as a forward for the first time. She has been on spectacular form since joining Aston Villa at the start of the season, and is currently in contention for the WSL Golden Boot.
@womens_football_updates England Women Squad Announcement April 2023 #fyp #woso #wembley #england #football #women #womensfootball
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The current Euro Champions are looking to continue their success in tournaments and claim their fourth trophy since the appointment of the Dutchwoman in 2019.
The main focus, of course, is the World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
Counterpoint
There have been calls from fans for a while for Millie Turner to get a call up to the squad. She has had good form this season, for the side who currently sit top of the WSL. With already such a solid defence, it can be hard to see where the Manchester United player would fit into the squad.
Having scored 7 in 5 since her record move to Tottenham, Bethany England is often a name rumoured at this time. She was named in the Euro 2022 squad, but failed to make an appearance, and hasn’t been called up since. The forward is making a strong case for herself, and now sits second on the WSL Top Scorers list, behind Viviane Miedema on 78 goals.
There have been calls from some for the return of former England captain Steph Houghton, even if it is only for a final farewell at Wembley. However it is well known that Sarina doesn’t do pity caps, and wouldn’t call a player up for the sake of it.