Why England defender Jess Carter was forced to miss Lionesses’ open-top bus parade | OneFootball

Jess Carter (pictured during her time at Chelsea) was forced to miss the trophy parade to celebrate England’s Euro 2025 win (Judit Cartiel/SPP)

Jess Carter was a notable omission as the England team celebrated their Euro 2025 success with a trophy parade in London.

The 27-year-old started for the Lionesses during their penalty shootout win over Spain in Basel on Sunday night.

England stars are celebrating in front of thousands of fans in central London today with an open-top bus parade.

Every single player in Sarina Wiegman’s 23-player squad was able to celebrate with the fans, except for Carter.

Carter also no-showed their trip to 10 Downing Street on Monday, and was also absent as the squad partied in London in the evening.

Why was Jess Carter absent from England’s Euro 2025 trophy parade?

Jess Carter missed the England trophy parade following their Euro 2025 triumph after she had to fly back to the United States to prepare for her next club game.

Unlike the majority of her teammates, she won’t get a break in the coming weeks.

That is because she plays for Gotham FC in the United States, and her club are in action against the Chicago Stars on Saturday.

The club want their defender back in the United States as soon as possible so was unable to celebrate with her England teammates.

Carter was subject to racial abuse on social media during Euro 2025.

She released a statement after the quarter-final against Sweden in which she revealed she would take a step back from social media.

However, she was one of England’s standout performers in the Euro 2025 final and was a missed presence in the England squad as they celebrated their success in London on Tuesday.

Why Esme Carter and Anna Moorhouse attended the parade despite playing for US-based clubs

England defender Esme Carter and goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse also play their club football in the United States with Orlando and Washington respectively.

However, unlike Gotham FC, Orlando and Washington permitted Carter and Moorhouse to celebrate their success alongside England teammates in London.

That is despite both of their clubs being in action on Sunday with Orlando Pride facing Utah Royals and Washington Spirit playing Portland Thorns.

While Carter, Morgan and Moorhouse have to jump straight back into action, the majority of the team have over a month to prepare for the new domestic season.

The WSL season gets underway on Friday, September 5th, when Chelsea face Manchester City.