Latest news with #EnglandSquad
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Lionesses squad for Euro 2025 announced with Earps, Bright and Kirby replaced
Sarina Wiegman has announced England 's 23-player squad for the upcoming European Championship title defence in Switzerland, including Lauren James, who has recovered from a hamstring injury. Lotte Wubben-Moy replaces Millie Bright, who withdrew to focus on her mental and physical health, while Maya Le Tissier was also picked in defence. Following Mary Earps ' international retirement, uncapped goalkeepers Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse will serve as deputies to Hannah Hampton. The squad includes 19-year-old forward Michelle Agyemang and veteran Nikita Parris, while Fran Kirby retired after being informed she would not be selected. England's Euro 2025 campaign begins against France in Zurich before matches against the Netherlands and Wales in Group D; Wiegman selected 13 players from the Euro 2022 winning squad, with seven set to make their tournament debuts.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
England confirm Lionesses squad for Euro 2025 as Lauren James decision made
Sarina Wiegman has picked Lauren James in the England squad who will try and defend their European Championship title in Switzerland this summer. James, who has not played since April because of a hamstring injury, has been in a race against time to be fit but made the 23-player group. Lotte Wubben-Moy was the beneficiary of Millie Bright's decision to withdraw as the defender who captained England in the 2023 World Cup final announced she needed a break to look after her mental and physical health. Without Chelsea's treble-winning captain and the injured Ella Morris, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Maya Le Tissier were picked in defence. After Mary Earps' surprise retirement from international football, Wiegman has picked two uncapped goalkeepers, in Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse, as the deputies for first-choice Hannah Hampton. The 19-year-old forward Michelle Agyemang, who has only won one cap, was included while her Brighton teammate Nikita Parris, a veteran of 74 caps. In midfield, Fran Kirby retired after hearing she would not make the squad while Laura Blinkilde Brown and Missy Bo Kearns are only on standby, along with Sophie Baggeley and Lucy Parker. Wiegman said: 'I know this is an exciting day, for the players and also for our fans and it underlines that the tournament is coming soon. Telling the players they have made the squad is always a great moment. They will all give everything to help us make the country proud. This group is a very well-balanced mix of players with multiple tournaments on their CVs and also those that will make their tournament debuts. I am excited to see what we are capable of this summer. 'At the same time, I do feel for those that have just missed out. I can only name 23 but there are more players who have been so important to us on our journey to Switzerland. We would not be here without them. 'As we look forward, we still have a month to go until we play the first game. After some important rest, we will all be working really hard to make sure we are ready to go on 5 July.' Wiegman picked 13 of the squad who won Euro 2022 while seven will be at their first major tournament. England begin their 2025 campaign against France in Zurich before facing Wiegman's native Netherlands and Wales in Group D. England squad for Euro 2025 Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse. Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson. Midfielders: Grace Clinton, Jess Park, Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh.
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Jamie Overton is shock name in England squad to face India
England have sprung a selection surprise by calling Jamie Overton into their squad for the first Test against India, after their fast-bowling injury woes deepened with Gus Atkinson's absence. Overton has just one Test cap, three years ago against New Zealand, and has played just three Championship matches in the last two seasons as his white-ball career took centre stage. Overton is a regular in England's limited-overs set-up, but picked up a finger injury in the opening game of the ongoing West Indies series. After England beat Zimbabwe last month, Overton is one of four new faces in the 14-man squad for the first of five India Tests, which begins on June 20 at Headingley. Also returning are Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, while the unused Matthew Potts and James Rew drop out, as well as Atkinson, who has a hamstring injury. Sam Cook is retained at Potts's expense, despite a mixed debut in which he took one for 119. Bethell will compete with Ollie Pope for the much-discussed No 3 position. Bethell impressed when batting in that position in New Zealand last year when Pope was deputising for Jamie Smith as wicketkeeper. With Bethell at the Indian Premier League, Pope returned to No 3 against Zimbabwe and promptly followed both openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in making an excellent hundred. Pope was strongly backed by captain Ben Stokes after that match, but Bethell has impressed with the white-ball squad and remains in the selection shake-up. Woakes and Josh Tongue will play for England Lions this weekend as they build up their workloads ahead of the Test. That pair, alongside Carse, make up the likely attack, although Overton could come into the picture on the ground where he made his debut two years ago, taking two wickets and scoring 97 with the bat. England have been keen to build a battery of quicks and, being tall and pacy, he fits the bill. Summer is here 🔆🏏 — Ben Stokes (@Benstokes39) June 1, 2025 Stokes considered playing for the Lions, but has chosen to work on his fitness in training after an impressive return against Zimbabwe. Atkinson joins a long injury list. Already missing are Mark Wood and Olly Stone, while England hope that Jofra Archer could return to Test cricket for the first time since March 2021 in the second or third match of the series. He currently has a minor hand injury, but would need at least one Championship match with Sussex to prove his fitness. Woakes and Carse have only recently returned from injury, while England say Overton's finger problem will be assessed 'daily'. England squad for first Test against India Ben Stokes (Durham, capt) Shoaib Bashir (Somerset) Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) Harry Brook (Yorkshire) Brydon Carse (Durham) Sam Cook (Essex) Zak Crawley (Kent) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Jamie Overton (Surrey) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jamie Smith (Surrey) Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
'The best feeling' - will Toney build on Saudi success with England?
Out of sight, out of is what many thought about Ivan Toney and his chances of being called up to the England squad after he made the move to Saudi Arabia last Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel sprang a surprise by naming the Al-Ahli striker in his squad for Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Andorra and Tuesday's friendly against justified his decision by citing Toney's impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia - he has scored 30 in 44 games in all competitions. "He deserves to be with us and I am convinced because he scored over 20 goals for his team this season," the German coach said. "He won a major title with the Asian Champions League, he had a big contribution with goals and assists."Talking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Toney insisted he never thought his England career was over."No, I never think negative, I always think positive, no matter the situation on and off the pitch."I mean if you are scoring and playing well, obviously you are still going to be in the manager's mind."The manager recognised that and hence why I got the recall, which is obviously the best feeling." A player in form, but from a poor league? There have, of course, been many high-profile footballers who have made the move to Saudi Arabia in recent Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the most famous of them, but there's also been Neymar, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, who continued to be selected by their respective national teams after making the Toney could come up against his Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy when England play Senegal next through the list of squads there are plenty of recognisable names playing in the Saudi Pro League but, despite that, the overall standard of the league is perceived as quite Opta's most recent Power Rankings the Saudi Pro League was ranked as just the 29th-strongest in the world, just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro."Toney has referenced it himself publicly that he has been very surprised by the standard for football in Saudi Arabia," Gulf-based sports journalist John McAuley, who covers the Saudi Pro League, told BBC Sport."It is a lot higher than he expected and obviously that is because of the influx of proper international players coming into the league now."Saudi always had a very high standing in Asian football - Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League. "The level of local players is still very good but when you think of the defenders Toney is up against, he is still playing against Aymeric Laporte at Al-Nassr, Kalidou Koulibaly at Al-Hilal, Danilo Pereira, who came from PSG to Al-Ittihad - so he is still playing against European standard players."Regardless of the perception of the league he is playing in, there's no doubt Toney arrived at this England camp as a player in form, having enjoyed a brilliant scoring run in the second half of the season to help Al-Ahli become champions of Asia."He ended up with a run of something like 19 goals in his last 19 league games, finishing two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot," McAuley added."The huge thing, and something that really integrated him with the fans, is he played a key role in Al-Ahli winning the Asian Champions League Elite for the first time.""Making the transition, the first moving to Saudi, it was a big one," Toney told 5 live."Obviously, people are going to think 'how is he going to cope and how is he going to be?'. As you can see from the stats, they speak for themselves."It's been a good season with winning a trophy also. It was a big thing for me, I haven't won many trophies, but being part of that one was a big moment." A career of ups and downs Toney is 29 and has certainly had an interesting and varied career to this at Northampton, he rose through the leagues - scoring in all four of the top divisions in English football before settling at was at the Bees where he peaked, with 20 league goals in the 2022-23 season, to become one of the hottest properties in the Premier has, however, been a bit of a late bloomer. He only established himself in the Premier League four years ago, and was 27 years old when he won his first England cap. In comparison, Harry Kane had 46 caps by that stage - while Wayne Rooney had career has also been marked with controversy - in May 2023 he was banned from playing for eight months for 232 breaches of the Football Association's betting summer he was included in the England squad for Euro 2024 and played in the final against Spain, before opting to join Al-Ahli in August for £ wages offered will no doubt have played a big role in Toney's decision, with it reported, external that the four-year-deal with the Saudi side would earn him £400,000 per week after tax. A huge rise on the £50,000-a-week he was on at Toney was in his late twenties when he reached the top of the game, a desire to significantly safeguard his financial future seems the striker has been insistent that a desire for new experiences also motivated him."I wanted something a bit different," he told FourFourTwo in December."It's a different culture, but I can blend in anywhere. I've been at Peterborough, Brentford, now out of the UK. "I'm excited to be on this journey. I believe it's the right move at this stage of my career." The 'natural fit' who might offer an edge for 2026 World Cup Tuchel was keen to stress that Toney's England call-up was as much about him getting a close-up look at the player, having not had the opportunity to go see him play in Saudi former Chelsea boss has underlined the importance of a player's personality and how they are in a training camp, as well as having players in the group who have won things - having talked up Toney's Asian Champions League aside from that he does offer Tuchel a good option in attack."Of course, yes I have been in the plans before and I just have to keep amongst it, keep scoring goals and keep playing well," said Toney."There are a lot of great players and great strikers that are in and around the mix, but I have to focus on myself and hopefully I can stay amongst it now and get myself to the World Cup.""Toney is the most natural fit if Kane is injured. He is the most similar in terms of profile," says BBC Sport's senior football reporter Alex Howell."When you see Ollie Watkins play it does really change the way England play - wingers are looking for him, the number 10s want to connect with the striker, but Watkins is always looking the other way - Toney wants to be that focal point."Another consideration Tuchel may have made is that by the time the 2026 World Cup comes round, playing in the heat and humidity of Saudi Arabia will ensure Toney is accustomed to the conditions anticipated in North America."The start and end of the season it is boiling in Jeddah, and it has the humidity as well, and that will certainly stand him in good stead for next year," added eyes will now be on these next two games for England and how big a role Toney plays in them under Tuchel.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England's worst defence for a generation and Saudi exile Ivan Toney in from the cold... Thomas Tuchel's squad is one big head-scratcher, writes CRAIG HOPE
Thomas Tuchel is a man who knows what he wants - except, that is, when it comes to next summer's World Cup. Three strikers? 'Not sure, not sure about it,' he said. But you seem set on the make-up of your squad? 'It's nice to give you this impression,' he laughed. 'But no!' Look at the England squad for next month's internationals - the defence is the weakest for a generation - and we should take comfort from Tuchel's claim that nothing is set in stone, apart from maybe Jordan Henderson. This is a fluid situation, says the England manager. He even joked about the rotation of his chair in the Wembley suite that he uses to talk to journalists. 'Every time it moves some degrees,' he said. It shows his attention to detail that he remembers. And this job will need a lot of attention to a lot of details if England are to win the World Cup. Goodness, it needs work just to be competitive. The defence is the obvious concern, with three right backs who are either too old, too fragile or not very good at defending. More on Trent Alexander-Arnold shortly. But is the other end of the pitch not of equal concern? That you can apply a rational argument to a recall for Ivan Toney, who left Brentford for Saudi Arabia last summer, is a worry. He scored for Al Ahli this week, a penalty, when up against two Saudi Arabian centre backs aged in their 30s, one of whom is uncapped. Tuchel says his numbers are good - 22 Saudi Pro League goals - but so are Abderrazak Hamdallah's, the Moroccan 34-year-old with one goal fewer. Out of sight should ideally mean out of mind when it comes to less competitive leagues, but maybe it is worth a look at Toney, especially when Harry Kane will be another year slower in the United States, while Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke have never really convinced at this level. I offered Liam Delap as an alternative, but Tuchel did not yet seem as keen as me. 'The fact is, he went down with Ipswich,' he returned. Ouch. He did, though, offer encouragement to the highly rated 21-year-old for future involvement. Kane, Toney and Watkins will all be in their 30s come the World Cup and this in three countries - the US, Mexico and Canada - where experts have warned temperatures could be dangerously high during matches. On that, Tuchel gave some fascinating insight. Indeed, next month's training base in Girona could resemble a NASA boot camp. 'I have done pre-season in Orlando and I will be very surprised if we do not suffer,' he said. 'Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup. 'Now, in camp, we will test the players to see how they react to heat. On a very professional level, we will increase our knowledge of how to cool players down, when to take a cooling break, what helps and cools each player individually.' Tuchel will go to the Club World Cup to get a real feel for the sun on his neck. He also confirmed players taking part would not be released early from this camp. That is the right call, given the limited training days and limitless questions. 'Can you play high pressing in the heat?' he mused. 'Can you play man-to-man? Can you play transition games?' England struggled to achieve most of that in Germany last summer in comparatively fairer climes. Next month's qualifier against Andorra in Spain is probably the most they will sweat in literal terms before the World Cup, but as Tuchel says, it is not Dallas and it is not a World Cup semi-final. He says all of this, by the way, with a smile and with conviction. He is affable and engaging. Even questions about the continued inclusion of Henderson, who will turn 36 during the World Cup and plays in the Netherlands for Ajax, are met with good grace. 'I understand the question,' he said, the inference being that Adam Wharton was missing out. 'But once you meet Jordan, see Jordan and speak to Jordan, it's such an obvious choice. 'Your perception is far away from my perception, but I understand it. This isn't Adam Wharton versus Jordan Henderson. What Jordan brings to the group, an Under 21 player cannot bring.' So why not take Henderson as a coach? 'I never thought about this,' said Tuchel. 'I hope he is still at the highest level. It is ideal if he does it (the World Cup) as a player. Let's see if he is still on his good behaviour.' With that, Tuchel was gone. After half an hour, we had more questions than answers. That is not necessarily a bad thing - you would be alarmed if he thought this squad was the solution - but he is also rather laidback for a manager who does not have a defence of latter-stages standard. He admitted one mistake from Alexander-Arnold could mean 'packing your suitcases and going home'. A killer quote, but a bit of a killer for confidence. And right now, 12 months out from packing those suitcases and leaving home, it is hard to be too confident about England's chances of having a trophy with them on the return leg.
