England Lionesses World Cup squad 2023: Wiegman announces 23-player squad as injured Chelsea star makes cut

Sarina Wiegman has announced her 23-player England squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup.

The Dutch manager has been plagued with several heart-breaking injury issues as she prepared to pick her World Cup squad. Beth Mead ruptured her ACL back in November and captain Leah Williamson suffered the same injury just last month, crushing the hearts of all England fans.

Chelsea’s Fran Kirby is another who will be forced to watch from the sidelines as her Euro 2022 winning teammates make the journey down under. The Blues midfielder had hoped to be back in action but is having to undergo knee surgery as her injury continues to plague her.

However, the Lionesses are still heavy favourites as they gear up for their Australia and New Zealand trip.

The Women’s Super League 2022/23 season ended on Saturday 27 May with Chelsea lifting the trophy while Manchester United were forced to settle for second place. This has given Wiegman just four days to finalise her squad as she awaited the final day’s play in the WSL season.

Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly ended the year as the top goal scorer netting 22 goals in 22 games, despite playing as a defender in England’s Euro 2022 squad. Not only was she the season’s top goal-scorer but she also matches Vivianne Miedema’s all-time record go WSL goals scored in a single season.

While the end of an exceptionally tightly-fought contest will see Millie Bright relish yet another WSL title, her Lioness teammates Alessia Russo and Ella Toone will celebrate reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League tournament for the first time in their history.

England’s first match takes place on Saturday 22 July with kick-off set for 10.30am BST. Their opener will be against Haiti before they face Denmark and China on the 28 July and 1 August respectively.

Here is England Women’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps, Ellie Roebuck, Hannahy Hampton

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, Kiera Walsh, Katie Zelem

Forwards: Bethany England, Rachely Daly, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Katie Robinson