Ahead of the upcoming October international break, Sarina Wiegman has announced her selected 23-player squad. The announcement has left some Lionesses fans unhappy, with favourites Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly left out of the squad. The Lionesses have two upcoming fixtures over the international break, with a home and away leg against Greece.
After failing to qualify automatically for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Wiegman has made a few changes to her squad as England prepare for Round One of a two-legged European Qualifier play-off.
Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Liverpool), and Anna Moorhouse (Manchester City).
Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Grace Fisk (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), and Leah Williamson (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Laura Blinkilde Brown (Manchester City), Lucia Kendall (Aston Villa), Erica Meg Parkinson (North Carolina Courage), Lexi Potter (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Arsenal), and Keira Walsh (Chelsea).
Forwards: Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Manchester City), Jess Park (Manchester United), and Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
18-year-old midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson makes her way back into the Lionesses squad, while still awaiting her first cap since her initial call-up back in April. Adding more fresh, young talent into the midfield, Wiegman has called up 20-year-old Lexi Potter for her debut international window.
Lexi Potter has truly deserved the call-up, playing a total of 346 minutes for Chelsea across their WSL and Champions League campaigns so far. In Chelsea’s five opening games, Lexi has started three, been benched once, and been substituted into one game, playing 76 minutes. She scored her first goal of the 2026/27 season for Chelsea in their 2-0 victory against Birmingham City 10 days ago.
There are some significant changes in the Lionesses squad for this upcoming international window compared to the squad that was called up for the fixtures against Spain and Ukraine in June. Although Taylor Hinds did withdraw from the squad due to injury, due to a lack of game time with Arsenal, she remains out of the England squad.
Similarly, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Grace Clinton, Aggie Beever-Jones, Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly, all huge names for England, have been excluded from the squad. This is a statement from Sarina Wiegman, with the players either lacking game time or not producing the level of performances expected in recent weeks.
We are currently four games into the WSL season, and some of these Lionesses have played very few minutes:
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Lotte Wubben-Moy: 90 minutes
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Grace Clinton: 141 minutes
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Aggie Beever-Jones: 107 minutes
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Ella Toone: 300 minutes
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Chloe Kelly: 142 minutes
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Taylor Hinds: 90 minutes
According to Chloe Kelly’s representatives, Kelly is currently unfit and has therefore not been selected by Wiegman.
Ellie Roebuck remains left out of Wiegman’s squad after recently returning to training with Aston Villa. Roebuck has a shoulder injury and was sidelined for around four months, having undergone surgery and withdrawn from the June camp. As she has only just returned to training, Roebuck is yet to start or feature in a game for Aston Villa, so has not been called up by Wiegman.
Women’s football fans, particularly Chelsea fans, are excited and hopeful about the midfield link-up between Keira Walsh and Lexi Potter on the international stage, as the pair have already proved to be a powerful combination for Chelsea in their opening games.
Many fans were hoping to see a few new faces, as well as a few familiar faces, join the Lionesses squad for the international window. Many believe that the likes of Issy Goodwin, Poppy Pattinson and Ruby Mace should have been called up.
As previously mentioned, a lot of Lionesses fans are in shock at Sarina Wiegman’s decision to exclude Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone. However, it could come at the greater good, as we will hopefully see Lexi Potter and Erica Parkinson make their Lionesses debuts. Many Lionesses and women’s football fans have been calling for Sarina Wiegman to switch up the squad and make things less predictable.
England’s campaign began with strong results, including a 6-1 victory over Ukraine and a 2-0 win against Iceland. They also secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Spain at Wembley, which was a significant result in the group standings.
The 4-0 defeat to Spain on Spanish soil was indeed the pivotal moment of the qualifiers. While England finished with a strong record of five wins and one loss, collecting 13 points and finishing second in their group, they were unable to secure the top spot.
Because only the group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, England must now navigate the UEFA play-offs to reach Brazil 2027. This outcome has been a disappointment for many fans who expected the Lionesses to qualify directly, given their recent success, including their 2025 European Championship triumph.
In the last international window, there were certainly a few absences, not only in the matches but also around camp. Both Khiara Keating and Ellie Roebuck withdrew from the squad due to injuries, leaving only Hannah Hampton and Anna Moorhouse in the original squad, while Sophie Baggaley was called up as a replacement.
Two defenders also withdrew from the squad due to injuries, with Taylor Hinds suffering an ankle injury and, more notably, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson being ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Wiegman only made one replacement defensively, bringing in Grace Fisk. This meant England were not only one defender down, with no additional defender to bring on in the Spain game, but were also without Williamson, who is so much more than a captain. She is very much a key part of the England team and a vocal organiser at the back.
Off the back of the 4-0 loss to Spain, Wiegman made three defensive changes to the starting eleven against Ukraine, as well as one change in midfield. Lotte Wubben-Moy, Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze were replaced by Maya Le Tissier, Jess Carter and Niamh Charles, with only Esme Morgan starting both games.
In midfield, Ella Toone was replaced by Laura Blinkilde Brown. Although they were two different scenarios, in terms of No.1 versus No.34, some of the top-ranked women’s footballers in the world, and two different locations, it was clear to England fans that Wiegman was not happy with the 4-0 defeat and that things would most certainly change.
The statistics for these games speak for themselves. England were so much stronger against Ukraine. Yes, you have to consider the difference in quality between Spain and Ukraine; however, the team seemed to rally together in front of a home crowd to secure a play-off spot.
The Lionesses are currently ranked fourth in FIFA’s World Rankings, whilst Greece are currently ranked 59th. However, England fans cannot go into the two upcoming games expecting the Lionesses to win, score lots of goals and secure their places at the World Cup. Greece are also eager to secure their spot at the World Cup and make history, as they have never made it past the qualifying and play-off stages.
The opening match of this international window is on Friday, 9 October, at 5:30pm BST at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion, Crete.
