New faces and old fears: Lionesses’ Euro title defence is a step into the unknown | OneFootball

Time moves quickly in football and in women’s football in particular, as the drive towards professionalism gathers pace. The England squad that heads to Switzerland attempting to retain their European title looks different to the one that won a first major title only three years ago, but evolution is a necessary step in the life cycle of a team and, especially, when the rest of the world is also evolving.

Are England in a better place going into the tournament in Switzerland than they were going into the 2022 home Euros? It is impossible to answer that question when no team, England included, stand still and the landscape of European women’s football has fundamentally changed.

Firstly, the Lionesses have had players step away since the Euros three years ago, which was pushed back a year due to Covid. Shortly after lifting the trophy at Wembley their record goalscorer, Ellen White, announced her retirement, as did the influential midfielder Jill Scott. Rachel Daly said she was quitting international football in April 2024 and, much more recently, came announcements from Mary Earps, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright, rocking the camp a month out from the 2025 tournament.

As a result, there are new faces in the fold. Some have been blooded in the interim, such as Chelsea’s goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and forward Aggie Beever-Jones, Manchester United’s Maya Le Tissier and Grace Clinton and the Manchester City midfielder Jess Park. Then there’s the wildcard, Arsenal’s 19-year-old forward Michelle Agyemang, who spent last season on loan at Brighton and scored 41 seconds into her England debut. These are players who have benefited from full‑time professionalism from far earlier ages than those calling time on their England careers. The overall quality of the squad is going through a natural levelling up with each generational change but the above-mentioned players have not yet peaked. They are hungry, ready to be tested on bigger stages and are exciting to watch, but it will take time for this newer generation to become critical components for England.

The exit of Earps, twice Fifa The Best goalkeeper of the year, undoubtedly leaves the biggest hole in the squad. The nature of the position means there are far fewer opportunities to hand minutes to those coming through. As a result the Lionesses travel to Switzerland with Hampton, who has 15 caps, and the uncapped backup pair of Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse. A blip in Hampton’s form or confidence or, whisper it, an injury, could be a big problem.

The fitness of England’s squad is also a concern. Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp and Georgia Stanway have recently returned from knee surgeries. The Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway has played only 60 minutes of football this year, spread across England’s two most recent fixtures. She is one of only five midfielders in Wiegman’s squad for the tournament. When questioned on whether they were light in that area the manager pointed to the versatility of players who are primarily defenders or forwards. Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze, Le Tissier and Lauren James have all been used in midfield at different times in their careers, but none, maybe bar Le Tissier who is unlikely to be a starter, are players you would want moved from their traditional positions unless forced to. Meanwhile, James is in a race against time to be fit following the hamstring injury that sidelined her for the end of Chelsea’s campaign.

The world the players are operating in is different too. In the buildup to the 2022 tournament the Lionesses were unbeaten under Wiegman. Since the 2023 World Cup final, England have played 24, won 14, drawn four and lost six. The contrast is stark, but is also not necessarily cause for concern. The introduction of the Nations League and the knockout rounds that determine World Cup qualification mean the calibre of the opposition that England face on a regular basis has changed dramatically, while the number of friendlies has also reduced.

For Wiegman, the pressure is on to deliver amid this relative turbulence. Which feels like a strange thing to say about a manager who has been victorious in the last two editions of this tournament, with the Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022. But success breeds scrutiny. That the exits of Earps, Kirby and Bright, albeit for different reasons, came back-to-back and so close to the tournament hasn’t helped. It has left many asking questions about the manager’s ruthlessness, marking a shift from Wiegman being praised for her honesty and the clarity it provides for players.

Meanwhile, the unity that carried the Lionesses through in 2022 – the public, players, staff and media, all riding the same wave – seems to have developed cracks. The players taking their dispute with the Football Association public after becoming frustrated with the pace of talks on the eve of the World Cup in 2023 was indicative of the wider disruption of the previous harmony.

In Switzerland there is no time to lose. It took England a game to find their flow in 2022, a 1-0 win over Austria in a tight opening game at Old Trafford preceding their 8-0 blitz of Norway. At the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the story was similar, with not wholly convincing 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark coming before a confident 6-1 defeat of China. This summer, drawn in the group of death, with 2022 semi-finalists France the opening fixture before they play the Netherlands and then newcomers Wales, there is no room for England to grow into the tournament. It means the send-off game against Jamaica in Leicester six days before their opening fixture is potentially very important to building rhythm.

Should England escape the group, they will probably face familiar foes en route to the final. Second spot would potentially set up a quarter‑final against Euro 2022 final opponents Germany and then a possible final with Spain. If they top Group D, Spain could await them at the semi-final stage if they get through a quarter against either Sweden or Denmark.

The task is big, but there are plenty of positives too – there is an air of the unknown and an unpredictability to England as a result of the new faces coming in. There is plenty top-tier experience in the side, with six players from the Champions League winners Arsenal in the squad, six from the domestic treble winners Chelsea and one, Jess Carter, from the inaugural Concacaf Champions Cup winners, Gotham FC.

Chloe Kelly looks rejuvenated after her loan move to Arsenal in January after being frozen out at Manchester City, Beth Mead seems to be refinding her form, Hemp doesn’t appear to have been hugely affected by her lack of football, and Beever-Jones is translating club form to country, having in May become the second England woman to score a hat-trick at Wembley.

Can England win the Euros? Absolutely. Will they? It’s not unrealistic. However, if they don’t, it won’t necessarily mean the tournament was a failure. Every team is evolving, the game is evolving, and progress doesn’t always follow a straight line.

Header image: [Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]