By Lori Ewing
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) – England manager Sarina Wiegman has completed the difficult task of selecting her 23-player squad for the Women’s World Cup amid a raft of injuries to key players.
The Dutch manager unveiled her selection on Wednesday, 50 days before the World Cup kicks off on July 20. There is a return for striker Bethany England while defender Millie Bright is included despite a recent injury.
The Lionesses, who won bronze in 2015 and were fourth four years ago in France, begin their World Cup campaign on July 22 against Haiti in Brisbane. They also have Denmark and China in Group D.
The European champions have been rocked by a number of serious injuries, sidelining captain Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby among others and creating significant selection dilemmas for Wiegman.
“I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia. We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22 July,” the Dutch coach said in a statement.
“We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer. It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready.
“We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the Euro last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.”
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps, Hannah Hampton, Ellie Roebuck
Defenders: Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Esme Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy
Midfielders: Laura Coombs, Jordan Nobbs, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Katie Zelem
Forwards: Rachel Daly, Bethany England, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Katie Robinson, Alessia Russo.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
