Sarina Wiegman admits having 'hard conversations' as four England Euro 2022 winners dropped
By Ali Rampling
Sarina Wiegman has admitted having 'hard conversations' with players after dropping four members of England's Euro 2022 winning squad for the October international camp.
Bethany England, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Nikita Parris and Hannah Hampton have not been called up ahead of England's upcoming friendlies with the USWNT and the Czech Republic.
There is also no place for Jordan Nobbs, who missed Euro 2022 through injury, but was recalled for the Lionesses' September camp.
Parris, Wubben-Moy, Nobbs and England have each not started a match for their respective clubs so far this season, and Wiegman cited a lack of minutes and competition for places as reasons for not selecting certain players.
"They were hard conversations, they were hard choices," Wiegman said. "When you look at the team, it's very competitive in our team and in the different positions.
"So we look at quality of course, it starts with quality and talent. Being fit. Playing minutes with your team, and then winning the competition with the ones you're competing with for your position. Some of the players that we left out they just for a longer period of time didn't play minutes for their club team.
"They were also tight for competition for our squad, so not very many playing minutes, competing to be selected, and now the competition as we saw like with Lauren James is doing really well, she's getting up there so some of the players just lost the competition at the moment, and hopefully they can show and still compete and give us headaches for the next time."
Fresh from shining for Everton in the Merseyside derby, Jess Park has been rewarded with her maiden senior England call up, as has West Ham's Lucy Parker. The uncapped Esme Morgan has also been recalled after missing the majority of the 2021/22 season through injury.
England face the USWNT at Wembley on Friday 7 October, before returning to the Amex in Brighton on Tuesday 11 October to take on the Czech Republic.