Victory at Euro 2022 turned the England squad into household names last summer – yet the Lionesses have a very different look for this summer’s World Cup.
Jill Scott and Ellen White have both retired, while Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby were ruled out of going to Australia and New Zealand through injury.
That has opened the door for six players to make their major tournament debuts this summer – so who are the new faces in Sarina Wiegman’s 23-player squad?
‘She’s such a unique, talented player’
Having missed out on the Euro 2022 squad after a season where she was still making her way back from an injury-hit two years, Lauren James, 21, produced the sort of campaign for Chelsea which simply could not be ignored.
“Watching the Euros, going to the final last summer [as a fan], it obviously made me feel like ‘I want to make sure I’m there this summer’, and it gave me a bit more motivation and hunger,” James said.
More than the eight goals in 33 games, it was the endless creativity and directness of her play which caught the eye whenever James took to the field – and this is why pundits and team-mates alike speak of her as being the next female football superstar.
“I’m very privileged that I get to play with her every day,” said Chelsea and England team-mate Niamh Charles. “She’s such a unique, talented player.
“I don’t actually know what her stronger foot is because she’s just so comfortable on both. When we give her the ball, you know she’s going to hold it up and turn players, it’s very unique and hopefully it can be a weapon for us.”
‘I’ve got deadlines I’m not going to make’
Of all the excuses from students for missing exams and coursework this year, going to a World Cup is among the best.
“I’ve got deadlines coming that I’m not going to make, so I might have to ask for extensions!” said Esme Morgan, 22, a sport and exercise science student at Manchester Metropolitan University.
When not in the university library, Morgan is a key player for Manchester City, capable of operating at centre-back, on the right of defence and in midfield.
Her hopes of reaching last summer’s Euros were scuppered by a broken leg during the 2021-22 season, but she has worked her way back to fitness and form and will be a useful squad member down under.
“On the down days when you are injured and you feel like you’ve had setbacks, there were parts of me that thought ‘am I ever going to be the same player?’,” Morgan said.
“But when I came back and I realised that I actually felt better than I’d ever felt before, the World Cup was definitely a target I had in mind. I’m just so happy.”
‘England was the dream – I’ve made it!’
Captain, engine and set-piece specialist for Manchester United, Katie Zelem missed out on the Euros squad last year after making Wiegman’s initial longlist.
Retirements and injuries to others have helped Zelem earn a place for the 2023 World Cup, after a stellar campaign in which she was key in driving United to their highest Women’s Super League finish and Champions League qualification for the first time.
When asked if her World Cup call-up was a dream come true, Zelem said: “One million per cent. If you were to ask anyone and they said no they would be lying.
“England was the dream, but when I was 22, 23, it didn’t feel like it was going to happen – but at 27, I’ve made it!”
It marks the latest step on a long journey for Zelem, who played for United as a youth player before having stints with Liverpool and Juventus. She returned from Italy when United entered the Women’s Championship in 2018 and has been almost ever-present since.
‘A whirlwind 12 months’
The youngest member of the England squad, Katie Robinson, 20, was still at college during the 2019 World Cup.
The forward, who could celebrate her 21st birthday in Australia on 8 August, has been called up after an impressive campaign for WSL strugglers Brighton, but even she was surprised at how the last 12 months have gone.
“If you’d asked me a year ago I probably wouldn’t have thought that I’d be here, but it shows how things can change so quickly,” Robinson said. “I knew and felt like I’d been doing well at Brighton, but obviously nothing is guaranteed.”
While Robinson will be hopeful of some minutes as an impact substitute, her presence at the tournament culminates a remarkable rise for a player who has already suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her fledgling career and was on loan at Charlton in 2022.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” she said. “A year ago I’d just finished my loan, and now I’m going to a World Cup so it’s crazy how things can change that quickly, but I think I’ve earned my spot so I’m just delighted to be going.”
‘Luckily I don’t feel old’
As well as the youngest member of their squad being a tournament debutant, England’s oldest player is also heading to her first major international finals.
Laura Coombs, 32, was called up for the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup in February after good form for Manchester City, having made her only two previous appearances for England in 2015 under Mark Sampson.
“Luckily I don’t feel old,” she said following her international return. “It feels really fresh, everyone is really positive and the talent level is so high.
“I just feel coming into this now I’m more of a senior player and I do feel more comfortable than maybe I have in the past.”
‘I’ll just play wherever’
Named on the standby list for Euro 2022 by Wiegman, Niamh Charles was on holiday with some Chelsea team-mates when she received the treasured call that she would be stepping up to the main squad this summer.
“To be honest, I can’t quite believe it,” she said. “It’s not properly sunk in that I am actually going because, for a long time now, I’ve been in and around but have never gone.”
The 24-year-old played almost every game in the Blues’ double triumph last season, so she has big-game nous to bring to the World Cup despite her lack of tournament experience.
Charles, who will serve as back-up full-back, started her career further forward and is a versatile player who was also used in midfield by Chelsea boss Emma Hayes last season.
“The way I play leads me to be a full-back a bit more,” Charles said. “I’m quite suited to that position. I really enjoy it now but it definitely was a transition, for sure. It didn’t just happen overnight. It’s taken work and, still, there’s a long way to go for me.”