England women's squad named for Scotland and Netherlands

Sarina Wiegman has named the England squad for the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League fixtures later this month.

Keeping faith with players involved in the run to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand this summer, Wiegman has named a 24-player selection, including Lucy Staniforth and Maya Le Tissier, who travelled Down Under, and Jess Park, who withdrew from finals contention with injury.

World Cup duo Bethany England and Keira Walsh are both unavailable for selection because of injury.

The Lionesses will first be in action on Friday 22 September with Scotland making the short trip across the border to the home of Sunderland. Four days later, England will play the Netherlands away in Utrecht on Tuesday 26 September – scene of a memorable 6-0 win against Scotland at EURO 2017.

The Nations League campaign sees England drawn with Belgium, the Netherlands and Scotland in one of a quartet of League A four-team groups. The winners of each section will qualify for the semi-finals in February, before a final is played to determine the overall champions.

Wiegman said: “By the time we play our first game, it will be little more than a month since the World Cup final. We have had little time to reflect on all we have achieved so far this year.

"Instead, we will have to make sure the players are fresh enough and ready to perform straight away, if we want to go far in another competition. We will play a derby match against Scotland and they have shown good development recently and are getting stronger and stronger, while we know all about the Netherlands of course and the very talented players they have.

“It is the first time we have had the Nations League in the women’s game, and it will mean even more competitive matches for us to test ourselves. While the time to look back on a special period for us will come at the end of the year, it will be good to see the fans again in Sunderland. We have a great connection with the north-east and I know they will give us tremendous support again.”

The Squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Jess Park (Manchester City), Lucy Staniforth (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)

Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessia Russo (Arsenal)