Bethany England in, Beth Mead misses out as Sarina Wiegman names England’s Women’s World Cup squad

Bethany England has been included in Sarina Wiegman’s 23-player England squad for the 2023 Women’s World Cup but Euro 2022 golden boot winner Beth Mead misses out.

Tottenham forward England scored 12 goals in 12 Women’s Super League appearances following her January move from Chelsea but had not been selected for the national team since August 2022.

Wiegman said: “When she was at Chelsea she didn’t get the minutes, and we always say if you are competing for a position you aren’t building credits with us because we hardly saw her play.

“Then she made the move and she played in a hard situation. How much resilience she showed made us make the decision to get her in the squad.”

The tournament has come too soon for last summer’s player of the tournament Mead, who has not played competitively since suffering an anterior crucial ligament injury in November.

Wiegman said in March that Mead would be considered for a call up “if a miracle happened”, and the winger said in May that she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery.

“She is so positive and she’s going really well,” Wiegman added. “But we set the time schedule she had we would have taken so many risks to try and get her to the World Cup. To push her too much and she gets injured again.”

There is also no place for Manchester United’s in-form Maya Le Tissier or former Lionesses captain Steph Houghton, with fellow defenders Millie Bright — who will captain the side in Leah Williamson’s enforced absence — and Lucy Bronze named in the squad, having both undergone knee surgery during the latter stages of the season.

Niamh Charles, Esme Morgan, Laura Coombs, Lauren James, Katie Robinson and Katie Zelem have all been selected for a senior major tournament with England for the very first time.

Jordan Nobbs has received her first major tournament call up since Euro 2017, after injury cost her a place at the 2019 World Cup and Euro 2022 while Aston Villa teammate and WSL top scorer Rachel Daly is named as a forward after playing at left-back last summer.

Le Tissier, Jess Park and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby and will train with the squad when they report to St. George’s Park next month.

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Houghton has not featured for England for nearly two years after an Achilles injury forced her out of Wiegman’s first squad in September 2021, but her return to form during the second half of the 2022-23 season and injuries to key senior defenders had led to speculation that she could be included.

Manchester City goalkeeper Sandy MacIver made herself unavailable for selection earlier this month to allow her to remain focused on her rehab following an injury in April.

England won their maiden piece of silverware at last year’s European Championships but are without a number of players from their Euro 2022-winning side for this summer’s World Cup.

Captain Williamson was ruled out of the tournament in April after rupturing her ACL while forward Fran Kirby confirmed she would also miss out in May due to a knee injury.

Striker Ellen White and midfielder Jill Scott both retired following the Euro 2022 final.

England will fly out to Australia on July 7 and will initially be based at Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort in Queensland.

England 2023 Women’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone, (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)

Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton), Alessia Russo (Manchester United)

When is the Women’s World Cup?

The 2023 Women’s World Cup takes place between July 20 and August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

Co-hosts New Zealand kick off the tournament against Norway at Eden Park on July 20, and the final takes place at Stadium Australia on August 20.

England’s World Cup fixtures

Women’s World Cup — further reading

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(Photo: Getty Images)