Full-backs and future stars: the issues facing Lionesses before World Cup bid

The Guardian

01-08-2025

The shiny ticker-tape had not even been cleared from the pitch at St Jakob-Park when the gauntlet was thrown down. As England celebrated their Euro 2025 triumph, King Charles wrote on the royal family's Instagram account: 'Well done, Lionesses. The next is to bring home the World Cup in 2027 if you possibly can!' No pressure, then.
The short-term future for England players will centre around two things; a holiday – unless you are a National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) player like Jess Carter, who had to fly straight back to the US to play club football – and more accolades, the latest of which came on Friday as the National Football Museum announced every squad member and Sarina Wiegman will all be inducted into their Hall of Fame. More awards will surely follow but, eventually, everyone will catch up with the King's mindset and focus attention on 2027.
Having become the first senior England football team to win a major trophy overseas, and the first to defend a title, the next obstacle to overcome is to win the nation's first Women's World Cup, with the next tournament to be staged in Brazil as it heads to South America for the first time. The Lionesses have come very close, reaching the semi-finals in 2015 and 2019 before losing 2023's final, and their retained status as European champions will see many tipping them for glory in a couple of years. But how will this team evolve before then and what is there for all concerned to ponder?
Wiegman's team now enters a new era as they say farewell to her long-serving assistant Arjan Veurink, often hailed as key to their tactical success, as he heads off to become the Netherlands head coach. Geraint Twose, also part of Wiegman's backroom team for both of their Euro-winning campaigns, is also moving on to take up a new position as England's lead transition coach, supporting players in the youth pathway. Arriving from the Netherlands are Janneke Bijl and Arvid Smit, and it will be interesting to see how, if at all, England's style changes with them in place.
Lucy Bronze has made it clear she wants to play at the next World Cup. She will be 35-and-three-quarters when the tournament comes around and while her experience, leadership skills and mentality will ensure she is still England's first-choice right-back if fit, the Lionesses need a plan B, just in case sports science discovers an injury so severe that she cannot play through it, unlike a seemingly minor problem of a – checks notes – fractured tibia at the Euros. England had the Manchester United captain, Maya Le Tissier, waiting in the wings this summer, someone Wiegman sees as a right-back despite the fact she has played every match for her club at centre-back. Also in contention is Tottenham's Ella Morris, who has impressed at right-back through England's youth teams but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in May.
England have been without a consistently selected left-back for a generation, with no one making that position their own since the centurion Rachel Unitt more than a decade ago. Alex Greenwood did well in that position against Spain but she commonly plays at centre-back for Manchester City, and that is where Wiegman had intended to play the 31-year-old before the tournament began. Niamh Charles, who also played well when called upon from the bench, will be another option, but she will want to start more games for Chelsea between now and the World Cup.
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England are blessed with attacking options and Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones in particular are likely to provide Wiegman with welcome headaches during the next two seasons. Chloe Kelly's standing will also continue to rise, while Wiegman will be keen to give more opportunities to the technically gifted midfielders Grace Clinton and Jess Park, both of whom played prominent roles during the recent Nations League campaigns.
World champions Spain will be a huge threat in Brazil, as will the hosts, who have been in good form and reached the Olympic final last year. The US, managed by Emma Hayes, will probably be the favourites, while the younger generation of stars breaking through with Germany and France will see them in contention too. Japan, who played some eye-catching football during their victory over the United States in the SheBelieves Cup in California in February, will also be a threat. England's qualifying campaign begins next year.