Sarina Wiegman’s England squad shake-up sends a clear message. She picks on form

This is Sarina Wiegman’s biggest England squad-selection shake-up for a long time.

Yes, she picked Hannah Hampton over Mary Earps for the No 1 jersey at the 2025 Women’s European Championship, but she still wanted to take the latter to those finals in Switzerland. By omitting Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone, both of whom made their names at major tournaments, she has sent a clear message not only to the players themselves, but to all those fighting for an England shirt.

“The levels were not what I expected from them on the pitch,” said Wiegman in her press conference on Tuesday, ahead of a two-leg tie against Greece in the first round of UEFA’s World Cup qualification play-offs on October 9 and 13.

Wiegman has always maintained that performing at club level is crucial to international selection. Her decisions here show she will pick on form over reputation.

“I still believe in them. … I hope they can step up and show what they can do,” Wiegman said. “I’m convinced they can do better. I think they are convinced about that, too. They took the feedback well, in a positive way. But it’s hard to take, of course. It’s not a nice message. I hope they come back even better than they were before.”

Wiegman said her decisions had nothing to do with injuries. “I had a conversation with Chloe,” she said. “It was just what I saw on the pitch. I kept it to football with her.” The same applied to Toone.

Kelly, however, who was “fit and available”, in the words of her Arsenal coach Renee Slegers, on Sunday, playing 30 minutes in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea and starting against HB Koge in the Champions League last week, is now not available ahead of the Champions League game on Wednesday against Paris FC.

Ahead of Wiegman’s press conference, Kelly’s representatives told The Athletic she has been managing a hamstring injury. Following Wiegman’s press conference, Slegers backed up what Kelly’s camp had said: “She’s had some issues with her hamstring and no injury, nothing we could see from an injury perspective but been managing something.”

The duo’s absence makes way for newer faces and the midfield — Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh aside — looks refreshingly different. For too long, England have drifted. Wiegman has been criticised for not giving other players opportunities, but she will evidently stick with her regulars unless others show more quality.

Wiegman has been extremely encouraged by Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter. The senior team’s coaching staff had been keeping an eye on the 20-year-old youth international last year, and the manner in which she has started this season has earned a debut call-up.

“She has shown at Chelsea that she can start against any team,” said Wiegman. “The last game, against a top, top Arsenal, she did really well. She comes out on the pitch and no matter who she plays against, she’s just going to play and she’s comfortable.”

Potter’s inclusion also affects England stalwart and club team-mate Keira Walsh. The Chelsea academy graduate has played in a deeper midfield role for the west Londoners and Wiegman sees her primarily in a holding midfield role. That would allow Walsh to push higher up the pitch, occupy different positions and become more aggressive.

Wiegman praised Potter’s game intelligence and positional understanding, qualities that Manchester City’s Grace Clinton, who did not make the squad, despite starting for the champions in the Women’s Super League on Saturday, has lacked.

With an eye on next year’s World Cup in Brazil, should England beat Greece and then either Slovakia or Ukraine in the UEFA play-offs’ final round in late November and early December, Wiegman needs to bed in young talent.

She has done so over the last year with Aston Villa midfielder Lucia Kendall, 22. Erica Meg Parkinson is next on her list. The 18-year-old under-23 international’s switch in July from Portuguese side Valadares Gaia to NWSL side North Carolina Courage, where she is already a consistent starter, has clearly paid off.

Wiegman, who first called up Parkinson in March but did not include her in the June camp, left the United States after her summer trip very impressed with the attacking midfielder. She has previously described the teenager as “dynamic”, “aggressive” and “technical”. London City Lionesses’ winger Freya Godfrey has kept her spot but is yet to play under Wiegman.

In the No 9 position, the absence of Aggie Beever-Jones causes some concern. Wiegman was not asked specifically about Beever-Jones’ exclusion, but the Chelsea forward has only recently returned from an ankle injury. It leaves only Alessia Russo as an out-and-out striker.

Wiegman considered bringing in reinforcements, but decided against it, in the knowledge that she can use Lauren Hemp in that role, too. Russo’s understudy, Michelle Agyemang, is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury.

At centre-back, England have several options — Grace Fisk gets the nod ahead of Lotte Wubben-Moy — but, once again, are light in the full-back areas, with Wiegman opting not to choose Arsenal’s left-back Taylor Hinds.

The Lionesses have struggled with a lack of impact from the bench and an over-reliance on trusted players for some time, which has produced stagnant performances.

With nine months to go until the World Cup, Wiegman has set out her stall.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

England, Women’s Soccer, FIFA Women’s World Cup

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