The England Women’s World Cup 2023 squad are into the semi-finals of the tournament.
It’s been a strange tournament for the Lionesses so far. A world away from breezing through game after game 12 months ago, bar a 6-1 win over a China side who put up little resistance in the final group game, it’s been a very uneasy run for Sarina Wiegman and her squad both on and off the field.
There was always going to be a different look to the Lionesses with the likes of Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead missing, and matters weren’t helped when it looked like they’d lost Keira Walsh too. Back-to-back 1-0 wins against Haiti and Denmark where they looked short of ideas in attack and open at the back sparked some worries, but the China game and a switch to 3-5-2 seemed to settle them.
The nature of the situation has been hit home by the fact Wiegman didn’t even change her team during last summer’s European Championships, let alone her entire system partway through a tournament. With the system seeming to work better and Walsh returning, there was much hope heading into the Nigeria game, but again things didn’t click.
The Super Falcons did a good job of neutralising England’s key threats, to such an extent Lauren James, who has contributed to six of the team’s eight goals so far, saw red and may end up missing the rest of the tournament, and at least Saturday’s quarter-final with Colombia.
The Lionesses lived to fight another day after a tense penalty shootout, and a 2-1 victory over Colombia in the quarters has set up an intriguing battle against Australia in the final four. There is still a lot of work to do for the Lionesses to win the entire tournament, though, with Spain awaiting them in the final if they manage to beat the Matildas.
England Women's World Cup 2023 squad
England Women's World Cup 2023 squad in full
- GK: Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- GK: Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa)
- GK: Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)
- DF: Millie Bright (Chelsea)
- DF: Lucy Bronze (Barcelona)
- DF: Jess Carter (Chelsea)
- DF: Niamh Charles (Chelsea)
- DF: Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
- DF: Esme Morgan (Manchester City)
- DF: Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
- MF: Laura Coombs (Manchester City)
- MF: Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa)
- MF: Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
- MF: Ella Toone (Manchester United)
- MF: Keira Walsh (Barcelona)
- MF: Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
- FW: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
- FW: Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur)
- FW: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)
- FW: Lauren James (Chelsea)
- FW: Chloe Kelly (Manchester City)
- FW: Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion)
- FW: Alessia Russo (Manchester United)
The manager
Who is England's manager?
Sarina Wiegman has transformed the England side from contenders into champions at a home Euros, after doing the same with her native Netherlands in 2017. Wiegman has lost just once across her Lionesses reign and has been widely lauded by both fans and the media for her professional demeanour, superb tactical acumen and excellent relationship with her players.
Top scorers
Who's scored for England?
Three goals
Lauren James
One goal
Rachel Daly
Lauren Hemp
Chloe Kelly
Alessia Russo
Georgia Stanway
How many players are England allowed to take to the World Cup 2023?
The England Women’s World Cup squad will be made up of 23 players. Despite requests from some countries to extend the squad sizes, as was done with Men’s World Cup in Qatar, they will be limited to a smaller squad of just 23.
