Injuries and illness means some of England’s young stars have the chance to impress Sarina Wiegman in tonight’s friendly match against Japan.
Injuries and illness have given young England stars a chance to stake their claim for a World Cup place, and head coach Sarina Wiegman wants them to grab it with both hands against Japan this evening.
Wiegman operated an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach as she selected the same line-up for all of England’s European Championship games en route to the trophy, but is without five of her Euros starters in Murcia.
Manchester City duo Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp have withdrawn from the camp with injuries, with Fran Kirby also pulling out due to a viral infection only months after recovering from extreme fatigue.
Lucy Bronze is ruled out of the game in Murcia having tested positive for Covid and could return against Norway on Tuesday, while England’s leading scorer Ellen White retired in August.