Wiegman: 'We want to qualify as soon as possible'

Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman reacted to today’s squad announcement as the Dutchwoman named her team for upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland.

After embarking on the Homecoming Series to mark England’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 triumph, Wiegman’s side are back in action for the first time this year.

The Lionesses boss spoke of her delight at having captain Leah Williamson back at her disposal as the Arsenal defender returns to the fold for the first time since Wiegman’s team were crowned European champions in the summer.

“I’m very happy and it feels very good for her too,” said Wiegman. “She really wanted to be back.

“I’m in close contact with her and I’m in close contact with club. She’s in a good place but she has a little bit of lack of minutes.

“I think there’s some more players who are still building or didn’t get the minutes we hoped for. That’s also one of the reasons why we go with a bigger squad and we do have some time to come together before we get ready for the Ukraine game. I still think those are the best players to call up.”

There is also a first senior call-up for London City Lionesses defender Poppy Pattinson.

The 25 year old – who has represented England at youth level, most recently turning out for the under-23s in February 2024 – could make her debut this month.

“She was really excited with the call-up,” commented Wiegman. “We’ve followed her for a long time, also when she was at Brighton and played with the under-23s too earlier.

“She’s fit now and I think she had some very good performances for London City Lionesses.

“She’s a left full-back, very proactive; she’s across the whole wing and takes a lot of initiative. What I like too in possession is she really wants to play forward and finds a way to play forward. She’s very energetic also.”

Having joined up with the Lionesses during the last camp of 2025 after Khiara Keating withdrew through injury, Ellie Roebuck has retained her place in the squad, with Wiegman impressed with her performances for Aston Villa.

“She came in last camp because we had some injuries with goalkeepers and she got some minutes,” added Wiegman.

“She’s in a better place – she had some setbacks over the last year. It’s really good to see her back and see her happy and to see her being available and playing and training.”

However, the England boss is without Beth Mead and Ella Toone, with the pair sidelined through injury for the first international outing of the calendar year.

“Of course, you want them in the team,” explained Wiegman. “You’ve seen that in all the camps we have, players have lots of games. It’s a very high level.

“There’s always a couple of players that are injured that we can’t bring in. That’s part of our football life too.

“You just have to move on and hopefully the players get fit soon and we have more options. The more options you have, the better it is for us and the harder it is to make the right decisions but it’s part of life now. Hopefully for the players, they get fit quick.”

The Lionesses travel to Türkiye to kick off their qualifying campaign against Ukraine on Tuesday 3 March (5pm GMT kick-off) before hosting Iceland at The City Ground on Saturday 7 March (12.30pm GMT kick-off).

And although there are a handful of familiar faces missing from the squad, the England boss is confident heading into the window.

“I think we have enough players in the squad to play good games and to have players on the pitch that are fit and can perform at the highest level – that’s what we need to do and what we want to do,” noted Wiegman.

“We have now this week they’re at club and then they come with us, then we have some proper time to get ready for the game on the Tuesday after we come together. We’ll see where we get but I’m confident that we get a good team on the pitch.

“I’m very excited to be back. The message is we want to qualify as soon as possible and that’s a huge challenge with the group we have but I’m excited to see that.”