Wiegman explains her England squad selection

Sarina Wiegman named her 23-player squad for April’s UEFA EURO 2025 qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday morning, and immediately afterward sat down with the media to explain her selection.

You can view the whole press conference via the video below and we have also picked out some of her answers from St. George’s Park.

Tickets for the match against Sweden at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Friday 5 April start from just £5 for kids and £15 for adults, and can be purchased via the button below.

How happy and how relieved are you that Leah Williamson is back in the squad?

“Of course, I'm very happy to have Leah back.

“Our squad looks good and many of our players are available. Unfortunately, Millie is not available yet but Leah is available again and I'm looking forward to working with her again.”

How frustrated was she when she had to pull out of the last squad?

“Yeah, we all didn't expect that one. That was a hard one for her to take and a big disappointment for us too.

“But of course, then you have to take it and get back into playing games. I think she has recovered really well and it didn't take too long, so that was good.

“Now she's getting into rhythm. Of course, she hasn’t play that many games yet, but she's getting there and she needs the minutes now.”

What about Millie Bright? Are you concerned about how long her injury is taking?

“Well concerned and a little bit disappointed, of course. We had all hoped that it would go a little bit quicker but she's taking her time and wants to do the right thing to get back and not have any setbacks again.

“So she needed a little more time and she needed to do a little more work in the gym to get everything stronger. That takes a little more time.

“So hopefully – and Emma Hayes has said this too – she will be back after the international break. She has been doing responsible things.”

What was the thinking behind Maya Le Tissier dropping out of the squad?

“Yeah, of course I have spoken to her. Leah is back in and we talked [as coaches] about the defensive line. Some of the players can play centre-back, some of the players can play full-back and you look at the competition, when it comes to what you can do when starting, what you can do when we have a certain scenario and then I came to this squad. Unfortunately, that meant Maya dropped out of the squad.”

Another squad where Nikita Parris and Beth England are not involved. How close were they?

“Of course, they are very good players but if you look at the squad and you look at the competition up front, it is so tight and so competitive that I have to make choices.

“I am not going to bring in five centre-forwards – even if some of them can also play on the sides – so I have to make those decisions and that was the decision I made.”