London, Feb 17 (.) England captain Leah Williamson returns to the squad for the first time since Euro 2025 as they prepare to begin their 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Williamson, 28, missed England’s friendly victories over China, Ghana and Australia as well as their defeat by Brazil at the end of 2025 due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal defender had surgery after lifting England’s second successive European title in July and returned to action at the start of December. Several big names return to the squad including Chelsea forward Lauren James, Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood and goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton, Accoring to BBC sports.
James, 24, was absent for four months with an ankle injury before returning in November and is
now back to full fitness. She impressed in Sunday’s win over Liverpool and boosts manager Sarina Wiegman’s attacking options with Arsenal’s Beth Mead out with a fractured shin.
Greenwood, 32, missed the start of the season with a knee injury while Hampton had a thigh issue which ruled her out of the November camp.
There is a first senior call-up for London City Lionesses defender Poppy Pattinson, while uncapped 20-year-old Freya Godfrey retains her place in the squad.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck also earns a recall, with Manchester City’s Khiara Keating dropping out of the squad. Gotham FC defender Jess Carter is back after she was given time to recover from the conclusion of the National Women’s Soccer League play-offs in November.
England are without Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone, who is out with a hip injury until
the end of March.
Bay FC defender Anouk Denton, 22, who made her debut as a late substitute in December, is not included in the squad.
The Lionesses travel to Turkey to face Ukraine on March 3 (17:00 GMT).
They are the first competitive games since England’s success in Switzerland and they will meet reigning world champions Spain later in their qualifying group. There are eight international windows before England hope to travel to Brazil for the World Cup between June 24 and July 25, 2027.
“It’s a new year with new objectives as we start our qualification journey with these two very important fixtures against Ukraine and Iceland,” said Wiegman. “This is new opposition for this England team, so that’s exciting too. I am looking forward to being back with the squad and
getting back to work.”
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