Sarina Wiegman explains what England star will bring following recall
Sarina Wiegman says Beth Mead will bring her England side "extra energy" following her international recall.
Mead, 28, has not played for England since November 2022, following her ACL injury, missing out on the World Cup in the summer. But Mead was named in the Lionesses squad on Tuesday after she started for the Gunners in a 3-0 win over Brighton at the weekend.
The Arsenal star last played for her country in a 4-0 win over Japan a year ago, but could now feature against either the Netherlands at Wembley on December 1 or against Scotland at Hampden Park five days later. England need to win both fixtures to have a realistic chance of finishing first in their Nations League group.
Only the group winners will reach the tournament finals, where the top two will gain qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games. Wiegman also confirmed that Mead is healthy and ready to be involved.
"Of course it's really nice (Mead is back) she’s played minutes," said Wiegman. "She’s in a good place and still building too. That was a very good phone call, she was very happy.
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"Her health is really good so she can just go. She’s shown of course in games that she’s in a good place and we want her to keep building and improving but she’s shown enough for me and my technical staff to bring her in.
"She is a character that brings positive energy, on pitch and off pitch. I think we have a lot of players like that. It’s good to have her back. Her experience, the way she plays. she’s different than other players on the wing so she brings different things so that’s good for the team. We have different opportunities again. I expect on and off the pitch that (she will) give us some extra energy."
Mead is the highest international goalscorer in the England squad, with 29 goals in 50 caps. Lauren James is also back in the squad after withdrawing from the last international camp with a concussion.
It leaves Wiegman with plenty of options in the wide forward roles, with Man City duo Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp also bang in-form. But Aggie Beever-Jones misses out despite having scored four goals for WSL league leaders Chelsea.
"There’s huge competition in that position," added Wiegman. "You can’t select 10 wingers obviously, but it gives opportunity to others.
"(Beever-Jones) scored a nice goal this weekend, again. She’s in our conversations. I think it’s a bit too early, also with the competition we were just talking about.
"We see good things. She’s in the under-23s, so - we have contact with Chelsea too obviously. It's good she can get the minutes there in the under-23s and keep developing. I hope she just keeps improving and gives us headaches again with our selection."
Goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck drops out the squad having not featured for Manchester City this season. Her club teammate Khiara Keating is included, still awaiting her first international cap.
Aggie Beever-Jones misses out on the senior squadWiegman had previously included both as part of four goalkeepers in the squad for the last international break, but has now reverted to three, with Mary Earps and Hannah Hampton also involved.
"that’s really hard for her (Roebuck) with the position she has at her club now," added Wiegman. "We did have conversations with her. At the last camp we decided to keep the four, four goalkeepers.
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"Now we went back to three, so I had to give her the hard message that we didn’t pick her for now. Yes, of course she’s in a hard position. She just has to work hard and see if she can find opportunities to play. And right now, in the very short-term, that’s probably not going to happen."
Full England squad: Goalkeepers: Mary Earps ( Manchester United ), Hannah Hampton ( Chelsea ), Khiara Keating ( Manchester City ).
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze ( Barcelona ), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Grace Clinton ( Tottenham Hotspur, loan from Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway ( Bayern Munich ), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal)
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