England name 23-player squad for 2023 Women's World Cup

England manager Sarina Wiegman has named the 23-player squad that will represent the Lionesses at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

England head into the tournament among the favourites to lift the trophy, having triumphed at Euro 2022 last summer to win their first ever major international silverware.

But it will already be a substantially different Lionesses team that heads Down Under. Ellen White and Jill Scott both retired in the wake of Euro 2022, while Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead are all missing the World Cup as a result of injury.

Bethany England has returned to the squad after being left out by Wiegman for most of the WSL season, having scored 12 times in 12 league games for Tottenham since January.

Senior defenders Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze have each made the cut, despite being out of action in recent weeks with injuries. But there is no Maya Le Tissier, who had been widely expected to be included given her regular call-ups throughout the season and her form for Manchester United.

Lauren James, Katie Robinson, Katie Zelem, Laura Coombs, Esme Morgan and Niamh Charles are going to a major tournament for the first time.

Jordan Nobbs is back in the picture and Rachel Daly has been included as a forward - having started at left-back at Euro 2022 - after 22 WSL goals for Aston Villa this season.

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England Women's World Cup 2023 squad

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Man Utd), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Man City)

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

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

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

Is there an England Women's World Cup 2023 standby list?

Wiegman has named three players on a standby list in the event of injury or illness to any of the 23 selected in the main squad prior to the World Cup beginning.

Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park and goalkeeper Emily Ramsey will train with the squad at St George's Park once everyone reports for duty in June. Le Tissier and Park will also then travel to Australia as back-ups and continue to train until England's opening game.

Any player can withdraw from a squad as a result of injury or illness and be replaced up to the time of a country's first game at the World Cup. After that, no more replacements can be called up.

England’s Women’s World Cup 2023 fixtures

• Group D: England vs Haiti, 22 July 2023 - 10:30 (BST)
• Group D: England vs Denmark, 28 July 2023 - 09:30 (BST)
• Group D: China vs England, 1 August 2023 - 12:00 (BST)

What has Sarina Wiegman said?

"I have huge belief in this squad and we're very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia. We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22 July. We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.

"It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready. We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the Euro last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.

"It is always tough to leave some players out of the squad, but they know they could still be needed if we have any issues before we start the tournament. I am very happy that we have such a professional group."