“Sometimes you have good news and sometimes you have bad news,” said Sarina Wiegman. “I don’t beat around the bush. I can’t always control how people respond to that, but afterwards we can just offer them support.”
This is Wiegman in a nutshell. The news is the news. You’re in or you’re out. The issue being — several high-profile players have opted for the latter.
England’s head coach entered the news conference after announcing her squad for this summer’s European Championship smiling — although her laughter gradually evolved to reflect incredulity at the angle of her questioning, rather than any shared bonhomie.
“Some people have called this a crisis,” she was asked at one point. “What would you say to people to show that this is not the case?”
Wiegman’s answer was blunt and staccato as she threw the question back. “That is not the case.”
A pause followed before she elaborated: “We know what’s happening in the team. There is competition going on in the team, and I hope there is competition. We go with this squad to the Euros now, and I feel very happy with the team. To me, it doesn’t feel like a crisis at all.”
Crisis is a strong word — but there is no escaping how three pre-tournament withdrawals, each for very different reasons, have been disruptive.
Last week, Mary Earps retired from international duty after being told she was no longer England’s No 1, although Wiegman still wanted to include the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper as backup to first-choice Hannah Hampton.
Kirby and Earps have both retired from international duty (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Fran Kirby took the same step, after being informed she would not make the final squad. The 31-year-old forward had always planned to retire after this tournament.
And then, one day before the squad announcement, former captain Millie Bright withdrew, stating on social media that she was “at her limits, physically and mentally”.
Speaking with England team-mate Rachel Daly on their podcast on Thursday, centre-back Bright explained: “I think we both know how much it takes to be at a tournament and the things that you have to tolerate mentally, physically. The demands of it are incredibly high, and I would see it as a little bit selfish to take up an opportunity in a position from somebody else when I’m not 100 per cent there.”
There had been disruption even before these decisions.
Wiegman’s long-time assistant, Arjan Veurink, is to leave after the tournament to take over the Netherlands’ women’s team. Lauren James, England’s most explosive attacking player, was a doubt to be among the selected 23 because of a hamstring injury.
And yet, despite it all, this is still an experienced squad packed with players Wiegman has spun wonders with previously. Bright is the only likely starter to withdraw. And though there may now be fewer players over the age of 30 — just Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood — there are still 13 here who were involved in winning the previous Euros three years ago.
Bright’s absence aside, the midfield and defence are largely unchanged from the team’s runs to the final in their previous two major tournaments, and the latter has been bolstered by the availability of Leah Williamson, after the England captain missed the World Cup in 2023 with a knee injury. Instead, it is the supporting cast understudying Wiegman’s starting XI who have been shuffled.
Older players no longer guaranteed significant minutes have been jettisoned in favour of younger, emerging ones who may be more content with being part of a squad. In the past week, Wiegman has held conversations with Bright in which she told the 31-year-old she was not a guaranteed starter.
The head coach insisted on Thursday that she did want to take Bright to these Euros but, when asked whether the defender was going to be part of her starting XI in Switzerland next month, was pointed in only replying she “would have been part of the squad”.
This equation — experience versus hunger — is not a new component when it comes to tournament selection debates. But in these decisions, what impact will those withdrawals have on the other senior players in the squad?
England had a disrupted build-up to that World Cup two years ago, too. Williamson, Kirby and Beth Mead missed out with injury, while significant figures in the squad, such as Ellen White and Jill Scott, retired after winning Euro 2022. There were arguments about exactly when the squad needed to report to the pre-tournament camp, as well as a very public spat with the FA over the players’ then still-to-be-agreed bonus deal.
On that occasion, despite a slow start in the group stage, they reached the final before losing 1-0 to Spain.
But this disruption feels different.
Going into the World Cup, the squad were very much together — it was backs-against-the-wall pugnacity as they overcame those injuries and negotiated with the FA. This time, players hold different opinions. Some are frustrated at Earps’ decision in particular, others empathise with the reality of her choice. She and Bright were also key to the social cohesion of the group.
Wiegman speaking to the media as she announced her squad (Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
After Earps’ announcement, Wiegman was asked what her long-time goalkeeper’s sudden international retirement two months before a major tournament said about the unity of the team. After a long pause, she replied: “I don’t know where you want to go with this question, but we’re talking about Mary’s retirement, and that’s hard. It’s hard for her, it’s hard for us. We wanted her in our team. I just really want to keep it to that answer.”
Does she feel that old togetherness among this team?
“Yes, I do.”
The temptation, given the departures of such experienced internationals, is to label this a transitional squad, but that would not be strictly accurate. Many of the presumptive starting XI — players such as Williamson, Keira Walsh and Alessia Russo — are in their primes. Arguably, given the demographics of the squad, the team that won Euro 2022 was more of a transitional one.
In choosing her supporting cast, Wiegman has been clearly guided by the central principle, which she set out last month, of wanting two players for every position.
She has largely managed to achieve that, though has arguably covered for Bright’s absence with two individuals — Lotte Wubben-Moy, who likely would have missed out otherwise, and Maya Le Tissier, who Wiegman does not appear to view as a centre-back despite her club form there.
Michelle Agyemang’s inclusion, meanwhile, could be read as an attempt to cover for any setback in James’ recovery. Wiegman insisted the latter’s selection was not a risk, expressing optimism she would be available for the first game against France on July 5, while also extolling Agyemang’s virtues. The 19-year-old Arsenal attacker who spent last season on loan to Brighton “brings something different and I hope she can show that.”
It is also still unclear exactly how this squad would adapt to any injury to Walsh during the Euros, though that is more of a reflection of England’s difficulty at producing elite No 6s than any player not being selected.
But this all speaks to a theme that runs throughout. Ultimately, given what had gone before, this was an uncontroversial squad. Kirby and Nikita Parris may be the players most disappointed to miss out, but neither of them would have been considered as certainties for a place, especially as they were highly unlikely to start games.
Wiegman does not historically like rotating her team during tournaments and so, outside of her starting XI, she can afford to select players based on the anticipated ease of managing them in camp, over ability alone.
Twenty-three names may have been read out on Thursday, but the real statement came before.
England squad
Goalkeepers (3): Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride)
Defenders (8): Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal), Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)
Midfielders (5): Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Jess Park (Manchester City), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Keira Walsh (Chelsea)
Forwards (7): Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Michelle Agyemang (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
(Top photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
