England Women's squad named for October

England head coach Sarina Wiegman has named a 24-player squad for their October World Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Latvia.

Following England’s 8-0 home 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.

 

The Lionesses 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].

Wiegman’s second squad since joining England sees the return of Aston Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and Manchester United forward Alessia Russo, while Manchester City’s Keira Walsh also makes a welcome return to international duty following injury.

England are without senior internationals Ellie Roebuck, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton as they continue their return to fitness.

Youngsters Sandy MacIver, Jessica Carter, Niamh Charles, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone 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.

“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," said Wiegman.

“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 still purchase tickets for England v Northern Ireland (Saturday 23 October, kick off: 5:15pm BST). Tickets are priced from £20 for adults and £2.50 for children. Concessions and group discounts are also available.

The 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)