England and France name Euro 2025 squads as experienced players step aside | OneFootball

Bonadei and Wiegman usher in new eras with reshaped squads ahead of tough Group D campaigns

Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images

England and France have confirmed their squads for Euro 2025, with both nations opting for significant changes as they prepare to face the Netherlands and Wales in Group D.

England will be without Mary Earps, who recently announced her retirement from international football after being told she would not be first choice.

Fran Kirby has also stepped away from the national team after learning she would not be included in the final tournament squad, while Millie Bright has withdrawn due to injury, prioritising her long-term health.

Arsenal are represented by Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo, Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly, who the club confirmed this week is in talks about remaining at with Arsenal permanently.

England Euro 2025 squad:

Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse

Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Maya le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Alex Greenwood, Leah Williamson

Midfield: Grace Clinton, Jess Park, Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh

Forwards: Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Aggie Beever-Jones, Michelle AgyemangAlessia Russo

France, meanwhile, have omitted three of their most seasoned internationals. Former captain Wendie Renard, all-time top scorer Eugénie Le Sommer, and playmaker Kenza Dali have all been left out of Laurent Bonadéi’s selection.

The newly appointed head coach has made it clear that his desire was to integrate fresh faces.

France’s recent tournament record has been underwhelming. They have exited at the quarter-final stage in eight of their last 11 major competitions, and lost all three semi-finals they have reached. While coaching changes have been frequent, the core of the squad has often remained intact, except during the controversial tenure of Corinne Diacre, who exiled players she clashed with, a move that paradoxically led to France’s best tournament showing in over a decade.

Diacre was later dismissed and replaced by Hervé Renard, under whom France were eliminated in the quarter-finals of both the 2023 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.

The current France squad reflects Bonadéi’s intent to look ahead, with ten changes from the group that competed at Euro 2022 in England. It strikes a balance between experience and potential, with the long-term goal of building towards the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

France Euro 2025 squad:

Goalkeepers: Justine Lerond (Montpellier), Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Juventus), Constance Picaud (Fleury)

Defenders: Selma Bacha (Lyon), Lou Bogaert (Paris FC), Elisa De Almeida (PSG), Maëlle Lakrar (Real Madrid), Griedge Mbock (PSG), Melween N’Dongala (Paris FC), Thiniba Samoura (PSG), Alice Sombath (Lyon)

Midfielders: Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea), Grace Geyoro (PSG), Oriane Jean-François (Chelsea), Sakina Karchaoui (PSG), Amel Majri (Lyon), Sandie Toletti (Real Madrid)

France’s reshaped selection may lack the tournament-hardened core of years past, but it represents a calculated gamble, one aimed at finally breaking the quarter-final glass ceiling and laying the foundations for future success.