Lucy Parker and Jess Park have both received maiden call-up as England Women prepare to face USA and Czech Republic in friendlies.
Parker has received her first senior call-up as Wiegman snubs Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy in defence, whilst Esme Morgan has been included for the first time since September 2021 – of which she withdrew due to injury.
Up front, Park has been handed a maiden call-up to the senior squad as Manchester United’s Nikita Parris and Chelsea’s Bethany England drop out of the squad, whilst Chloe Kelly returns after she was absent from September’s fixtures due to injury.
Arsenal’s Jordan Nobbs is absent in midfield as Fran Kirby returns to the squad after recovering from a foot injury, which kept her out of September’s concluding World Cup qualifiers.
With England’s attention now focused on preparing for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Wiegman iterated in a press statement that the squad’s time spent together will be “vitally important”, in terms of impressing Wiegman and securing a spot at the World Cup.
These friendlies also serve as a chance for those called up “to apply themselves to the best of their ability on and off the pitch,” as Wiegman begins to consider her World Cup squad.
England will face USA in their opening friendly which Wiegman is relishing, as she explained: “The challenge of facing the world champions is one we look forward to and it is another tough fixture to measure our progress as we look to continue to make the next step forward.”
On what she expects to gain from seeing her Lionesses face the USA, Wiegman said: “We are working hard towards next summer and this will help us understand where we are in our preparation.”
Wiegman’s Lionesses will host reigning world champions, USA, at Wembley Stadium, London, on Friday 7 October in a 8pm BST kick-off, with the match serving as an official 50th anniversary celebration of England Women Football Team.
England will then meet Czech Republic at AMEX Stadium, Brighton, on Tuesday 11 October with the match also confirmed as a 8pm BST kick-off.
Both matches will be televised live on ITV1 with coverage underway from 7:30pm BST on both evenings.
Here is the 24-player squad to play USA and Czech Republic in full.
Goalkeepers – Mary Earps (Manchester United), Sandy Maclver (Manchester City), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)
Defence – Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Manchester City), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lucy Parker (West Ham), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)
Midfield – Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards – Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Park (Everton – on loan from Manchester City), Alessio Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash)
Discussion about this post