‘It is difficult’ – England boss Wiegman discusses World Cup hopes of omitted trio | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that it will be difficult for the likes of Jordan Nobbs, Beth England and Lucy Staniforth to force their way back into the squad in time for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

The trio have not been included in Wiegman’s 26-player squad for this month’s Arnold Clark Cup.

Nobbs, England and Staniforth’s omissions from the England squad will be tough for those players to take. The trio have moved clubs in January in a bid to get more minutes and push their claims for inclusion in the Lionesses squad for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

When commenting on Nobbs, England and Staniforth’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 selection hopes following the latest squad announcement, Lionesses boss Wiegman said that it will be difficult for the trio to force their way back into the squad, although other players must also continually perform.

“I’ve made other choices now so yes, it is difficult but it is difficult for others too,” Wiegman said when discussing Nobbs, England and Staniforth’s omissions. “There are some youngsters in the team and they have got to prove themselves too. We are going to try out some things and look at some players that we maybe haven’t seen a lot of before. After that, we will take a look again but everyone has to show consistency in their performances.

“It is not set in stone now but of course, it is a big step forward because we play three games.”

Wiegman went on to say that it is a positive that Nobbs, England and Staniforth are now getting regular minutes for their new clubs, although that alone won’t ensure selection for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.

She said “They’re competing for selection and we have conversations with them all of the time. I think they’re in a good place, they’ve moved to clubs where they are playing a lot now. They can improve their game, they are getting settled in new situations and I think that makes it good for competition but you can’t control what your competitors do and what choices I will then make together with my technical staff, that’s the situation that we are in right now.

“We can at least see now where they are at, how they are improving and what their situation is and then we look at what the competitors do and we make a choice.

“It is good that they get minutes and that makes their positions better but it doesn’t guarantee that you are being selected, you have to compete with the other ones too.”

England begin their defence of the Arnold Clark Cup with a match against South Korea in Milton Keynes on 16 February 2023. The Lionesses then face Italy in Coventry on 19 February 2023 before ending the tournament with a fixture against Belgium in Bristol on 22 February 2023.