The England Lionesses are back next week for friendlies against Austria and Italy in Spain. After their disappointing end to 2023, in which they fell short of reaching the Nations League finals, and as a result missed out on the 2024 Olympic games. This means there will be no major tournament for the Lionesses this summer since the Covid pandemic.
Leah Williamson Returns
This double-header will see Leah Williamson return to the Lioness squad for the first time since her ACL injury 10 months ago; it will be the first time the Euro captain will feature in an England camp since the 0-2 loss to Australia following the Women’s Finalissima in April 2023.
Williamson returned earlier this year in Arsenal’s 0-6 victory in the Continental Cup against Reading, with the defender coming off the bench to later get an assist for Beth Mead- who has retained her spot in the Lionesses squad.
Embed from Getty Images“It’s really nice to have her back. She’s a very good player. She’s back playing at Arsenal, gaining minutes and doing well. The people at Arsenal are happy with her progress. Even though she’s been out for months and is still building, her decision-making is really good.”
Nikita Parris’ omission
Nikita Parris, despite her recent impressive form with six goals in the last six games, was surprisingly absent from the England women’s squad selection.
However, Wiegman was not convinced enough to include the forward. Who apart from Lauren James, has the highest goal tally out of the potential forwards: Parris- 15 goals in 14 appearances, Alessia Ruso- 8 goals in 17 appearances and Beth Mead- 5 goals in 10 appearances.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn defence of her decision, Wiegman stated: “The competition up front is really high. I’ve made some other decisions for this camp, but I hope she can keep some consistency because we’re thinking about her again. I had a brief conversation with her yesterday, she understands. We’re in a luxury position with our options in forward positions. She knows we’re watching her very closely.”
Calander concerns
During the press conference, the England coach raised her concerns surrounding the players’ calendar admitting that she is very worried because it “looks similar to last year”. Whilst the Lionesses will not have a major tournament, due to missing out on the Olympics. There will be an international break in June, before the Champions League starts in early September; those who play in Spain will have league games in June just before international duty.
“We have had conversations with clubs. These have been very good conversations but we still don’t have a solution for that period. I think that FIFA and UEFA need to solve that for the players. I don’t want to get in the same situation with the players, with the clubs, that we had last year [when there were disagreements and negotiations about when clubs would release players to the national team].
No one wants that because that’s how the conversations with the clubs have been, too. So, hopefully UEFA and FIFA solve that. Especially this summer, but then after when we talk about the calendar from 2025 onwards, this really needs to be solved.
It’s complex at moments but players at the highest level, the demands are so high, they need a proper rest in between seasons. Things really need to be changed.”
The Lionesses will find out who will be in their qualification phase for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 on Tuesday 5 March, those games will run between April and July, which will determine the 15 teams who will travel to Switzerland. “This camp is where the road to EURO 2025 in Switzerland begins.
Playing against strong teams like Austria and Italy is just the preparation we need before we kick off our qualifying campaign in April. I am really looking forward to getting back on the grass with the squad.” (Wiegman on the next stage of England’s preparations to defend their Euro title.)
England’s friendlies:
- Austria- Friday 23rd February
- Italy- Tuesday 27th February
Both fixtures will be played at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras.
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