Sarina Wiegman sends message to Beth England and Jordan Nobbs as squad announced
Sarina Wiegman has said that players transferring clubs for more minutes in the WSL doesn't guarantee their inclusion in the England squad.
Wiegman has named a 26-player squad for the three-match tournament with England looking to defend the title they won last year. Goalkeeper Emily Ramsey is the only uncapped player in the party, with Man City midfielder Laura Coombs and Chelsea defender Jess Carter recalled.
However, there is no place for Beth England following her switch to Tottenham in the January transfer window. Jordan Nobbs has also failed to regain a place after her move to Aston Villa from Arsenal.
Speaking after the squad was revealed, Wiegman said that although it is helpful that some of her fringe players are seeing more time on the pitch for their clubs, it doesn't automatically mean they will get back in the squad.
"Those players are all competing for selection," said Wiegman. "I think they are in a good place if they move clubs to play a lot now. They can improve their game and I think that is good for competition.
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"But you can't control your competition. It is good they get minutes but it doesn't guarantee you will be selected, they have to compete with other players in their position too.
"We can at least see where they are at now and how they are improving."
Bethany England was one player who moved in January partially to increase her minutes on the pitch ahead of the World Cup (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)The Lionesses manager also confirmed she had recently spoken to Beth Mead, who isn't included as she recuperates from her ACL injury suffered in November. But Wiegman said that although the Arsenal forward was hoping to make the World Cup, she won't be putting adding any pressure to rush her recovery.
"Of course Beth has not only had her knee, besides that she has had a very hard private situation (the recent death of her mother) I have left talking about the knee situation until now, I just wanted her to be ok after the sadness that she had.
"Her recovery is the most important and she is doing well, she told me. Of course she really wants to make it, but we'll let her get settled and see from there.
"I'm not planning without her (Mead). But I don't want to push it. We'll see how her recovery goes. But I don't want to look forward too much right now because of her situation."
The Lionesses face Korea at Stadium MK next Thursday (February 16) to kick off their campaign, before a clash with Italy at Coventry the following weekend (February 19). The hosts round off the tournament against the lowest ranked team in the competition, Belgium, in Bristol on February 22.
And Wiegman said that although the ranking of their opponents is slightly lower than at the same tournament last year, when the Lionesses faced Germany and Spain, the competition is still a major stepping stone towards the World Cup finals.
"This tournament is very important in preparation for the World Cup," she added. "We can try out different things and we need that information for the World Cup.
"Everyone wants to be part of that squad of course, and we want to prepare as well as possible. We follow them all the time at club, but when you have them in your own environment you can see them and talk to them every day.
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"I'm very happy with the 26 players in the squad and that more information you have before the final decision, the better decision you make. Of course those final choices will be very hard.
"We all think we can do even better and next week is the chance to show that and improve our style of play."
Sarina Wiegman led England to the European Championship title in her first major tournament with the Lionesses (Getty Images)Wiegman, who led England to a first major tournament last summer at Euro 2022, also explained her decision to recall midfielder Coombs for the first time since 2020. Coombs, who signed a new deal at Man City only hours before the squad was announced, has impressed for Gareth Taylor's side this season and will be looking to add to her two caps.
"She has done really well with Man City," added Wiegman. "She is in midfield but can also play either a little higher or deeper.
"We need that I think in the balance of our midfield. So that is why I choose to pick her."
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