England Women’s World Cup squad LIVE: Sarina Wiegman to announce group

Just fifteen minutes now until Sarina Wiegman’s press conference to unveil the World Cup squad.

England manager Sarina Wiegman is set to name her squad for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the Lionesses will look to add to their Euros triumph with the game’s biggest prize.

Wiegman’s side will be among the favourites as England aim to win the World Cup for the first time, but the Lionesses have been rocked by the news that captain Leah Williamson has been ruled out of the tournament after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament.

Suddenly, the England manager could be without a core of players who started for the Lionesses at the Euros last summer, which puts pressure on having the right depth throughout the squad.

And with Wiegman naming her squad today following the end of the domestic season, time has run out for players on the fringes of Weigman’s plans to stake their claim.

So ahead of the World Cup, who’s on the plane to Australia and New Zealand, and who’s hasn’t done enough to make the squad?

Jamie Braidwood assesses the situation ahead of the big reveal:

Growing up as a Manchester United fan, I came to understand the game, and its magnetic culture, through the lens and language of men. I loved going to Old Trafford but acknowledged that casual misogyny would be a facet of the day. I prided myself on becoming one of the “lads”, repressing my own antipathy in the process.

As the drummer and only woman in my band Sports Team, I found parallels. I became adept at minimising my gender in order to fit in and be taken seriously as a woman in an industry dominated by men. The long-term impact on your psyche is powerful. As a woman, you feel you may inhabit but not own these spaces. This was the tacit “rule” that shaped my perception of the social world and how I navigated through it.

Moments like the recent women’s FA Cup final collapsed this notion. I watched my team walk onto the pitch at a sold-out Wembley and sobbed for my childhood self as I had when I watched the Lionesses last summer; with joy, and envy at what felt like the limitless possibilities now open to the next generation.

Alex Greenwood discusses the growth in the game and the problems still to overcome:

Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott believes England can overcome the absence of key players to claim World Cup glory this summer.

Manager Sarina Wiegman’s preparations for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which begins in July, have been hampered by the loss of some star names to injury.

The European champions will be without captain Leah Williamson and midfielder Fran Kirby due to long-term knee problems while another casualty, forward Beth Mead, is rated highly doubtful having been sidelined since November.

But with two more experienced campaigners in Scott herself and Ellen White having retired since last year’s European success at Wembley, there could be a very different feel to the Lionesses squad.

More here from the former Lionesses midfielder:

Is Beth Mead fit enough after her ACL injury? Who comes in for absent captain Leah Williamson? These and more we’ll find out the answers to in less than an hour and they will have been some of the worries keeping the boss up at night of late.

Here are some of the biggest questions Wiegman has to answer as the England manager names her squad for Australia and New Zealand.

After the squad is revealed at 2pm, Sarina Wiegman will talk to the press to explain her decisions.

Former England goalkeeper Carly Telford believes the injuries that have struck the Lionesses can inspire Sarina Wiegman’s side at this summer’s Women’s World Cup.

England will head to Australia and New Zealand as one of the favourites, but their hopes have been hit by serious injuries that have ruled out captain Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby, while Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, and Millie Bright also face a race against a time to be fit in time.

The loss of key players could derail many of Wiegman’s plans for the tournament but Telford believes it will bring together those who do make the trip.

“As much as they might be team-mates or enemies in the Super League, a lot of them are friends, and watching your friends get hurt, you know how short a football career is and how few tournaments you might get to go to,” Telford said.

“It is hurtful when you see team-mates go down but it can inspire them as they will want to play for the girls who are missing it, and they will use it as motivation.”

England forward Beth Mead says she is still hopeful of being fit for the World Cup and is “ahead of schedule” in her recovery from an ACL injury.

Mead ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament playing for Arsenal in November and Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman said last month that it would be a “miracle” if she makes her squad for Australia and New Zealand.

But Mead has returned to light training with Arsenal ahead of the July tournament and said she is determined to give herself every chance of making the 23-player squad.

“The injury’s okay,” Mead told Sky Sports News as she picked up her MBE for her role in England’s Euro 2022 win last summer. “I’m a good five months in and back on the pitch and kicking a ball again, feeling good, ahead of schedule. That’s all I can do that’s in my control right now.”

Ella Toone has stressed England are set to head into this summer’s World Cup still well-equipped to prosper despite the injury setbacks that have been “really difficult to take”.

Skipper Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby have been ruled out of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand by injuries, while Beth Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the team won the Euros last year, may also be missing.

Toone, scorer of the opener in the 2-1 victory over Germany after extra-time that clinched the trophy at Wembley, said: “The injuries are really difficult to take.

“No-one ever wants to see team-mates and other players have bad injuries like that. So it’s been difficult, and players that are a massive part of our squad.

“But we have to focus on what we have, and that is so much talent within the squad. We have young girls coming up now into the squad who have unbelievable talent.”

England footballer Leah Williamson has spoken about the importance of sportswomen having another qualification in their “locker”, as she said the sport needs more women in positions of power.

It comes as the Lionesses and Arsenal defender has been ruled out of the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after suffering a knee injury and undergoing surgery.

Williamson, who has been training to be an accountant alongside her football career, said that pursuing a different qualification started off as an “insurance policy” for herself.

She told PA: “Originally, when I started it, women’s football wasn’t as secure as it is now.

“I started it as a bit of an insurance policy for me to take the pressure off football, so if it didn’t work out I have something else.”