Aggie Beever-Jones has received her first senior England call up and Millie Bright returns to the squad following a five-month injury absence for the Lionesses’ upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers.
Sarina Wiegman has named a 24-player group for the fixtures against France, Republic of Ireland and Sweden plus four standby players. Manchester United defender Maya Le Tissier, Liverpool midfielder Missy Bo Kearns, Tottenham Hotspur forward Jess Naz and Southampton goalkeeper Kayla Rendell are the players on the standby list.
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Beever-Jones, 20, has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Chelsea following last season’s loan spell at Everton, scoring 11 goals in 15 Women’s Super League appearances.
Bright, who captained England at last summer’s World Cup in Leah Williamson’s absence, withdrew from the Lionesses squad in November with a knee injury before returning to action with Chelsea in April.
Wiegman has named a near-identical squad to the one selected for April’s fixtures, with Beever-Jones replacing Rachel Daly following her retirement from international football, and Bright an extra addition.
England play France at St James’ Park on Friday May 31 before the reverse fixture in Saint-Etienne on June 4.
There is a gap before the Euro 2024 group qualifying stage concludes with matches against the Republic of Ireland at Carrow Road on July 12 and Sweden in Gothenburg on July 16. The 28-player squad will be used for both fixtures.
Players will report to St George’s Park on May 27 ahead of the fixtures against France. They will have a period of rest following the first two matches, before returning to St George’s Park for a three-day camp beginning on June 19. This is followed by a five-day camp from June 24-28.
A final camp in the Netherlands then takes place between July 1-5 and will include a behind-closed-doors friendly against the Dutch.
From the June 19 camp onwards, referred to as the ‘preparation phase’, players will have weekends off and will join up with the team at different times depending on their club schedule.
England are second in Group 3 after taking four points from their opening two matches against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City).
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Millie Turner (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).
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Midfielders: Grace Clinton (Tottenham), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona).
Forwards: Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
Standby: Kayla Rendell (Southampton), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Missy Bo Kearns (Liverpool), Jess Naz (Tottenham).
Wiegman: Bright return ‘a great boost’
Wiegman described Bright’s return to the England squad as a “great boost”, with her and Williamson available to resume their centre-back partnership for the first time since February 2023.
Williamson missed the 2023 World Cup and beginning of the 2023-24 season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, while Bright has had two separate spells out with a knee injury over the last two campaigns. As a result, Wiegman’s Euro 2022-winning centre-back pairing have not played together since the Arnold Clark Cup win against Belgium on February 22 2023.
“Absolutely it seems like a long time,” Wiegman said. “I’m very happy and so is she (Bright), and it’s very good for the team.
“It’s a great boost. Of course we all hoped she would be back earlier, but she just needed some more time. I’m just really happy now this is the moment she can come back.”
Beever-Jones is the second addition to the squad from the one named by Wiegman in April and the England manager praised the Chelsea forward’s development this season.
“Aggie has had a very great improvement, she’s developed so well,” Wiegman added. “She’s an open person, really wants to develop every single day on the pitch. When we had our February camp she came into a training session and she did well there. I’m just hoping she comes in and just goes out there and plays. She can play on the side, she can play in the centre. I’m looking forward to it.”
What to make of Wiegman’s selection
We know Wiegman likes continuity and so it is not a surprise she has named a near identical squad. She said she simply selected the best players in England but the decision to include four of the under-23s on a standby list shows she is thinking about the future and identifying positional gaps in the senior squad that may need strengthening long-term, too.
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The addition of Beever-Jones is recognition of her improvement. Wiegman was impressed by her performance when she joined in with the seniors during their February camp and her versatility as a forward, playing on the wing or in the centre, appeals to the England manager. Apart from Russo, the Lionesses lack a key focal point following Daly’s international retirement. Bright’s return is certainly positive news and establishing consistent gametime for England will be key. Asked about the captaincy, Wiegman confirmed Williamson is “our captain” but will have a conversation with the players when they come into camp.
What is interesting is Wiegman naming one squad for all four games to be played in May, June and July. After France away on June 4, players will have only two weeks rest before returning for a three-day training camp from June 19 to June 21 and then a five-day preparation camp from June 24 to June 28 before heading to the Netherlands from July 1-5 which includes a behind-closed-doors training fixture against the Netherlands. Players have often raised concerns regarding workload and congested calendar and there does not seem to be much let up here.
The 28 players will join at different stages of the preparation phase based upon their club programme.
(Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
