Women’s Euro 2025: Can England build a new team on the fly? (Guest Article)

Dottie Cardy looks into the Lionesses' situation

Hi everyone, Grace here, bringing you an excellent read from

Dottie Cardy

on England Women’s situation heading into Euro 2025. Dottie wrote a tremendous article for me last year on the history of women’s football in England, and I hope you enjoy this one as well.

For the first time since the 1970 Men’s World Cup, England will be entering an international tournament as defending champions, but the vibes around the national team are… strange. While many will argue manager Sarina Wiegman has created a lot of unnecessary noise recently, there are few you’d back to block out that sort of thing for the players better than her

The 2025 European Championship in Switzerland will be Wiegman’s third tournament in charge of the Lionesses, and uncharacteristically for the Dutchwoman, things seem increasingly chaotic on and off the pitch. Her success as England boss has been built on a foundation of consistency and honesty, but that just hasn’t been the case this year. The consistency has crumbled through unfortunate injuries and lacklustre performances, while the honesty is perhaps causing more issues than she bargained for.

With issues like the exodus of senior players and the questionable fitness of her squad, it feels as though this summer has almost caught Wiegman flatfooted. As she struggles to counterpunch, she must work out the identity of her side. They are a team caught between eras, and working through it is another test of a manager who so far has dealt with problems impeccably.

The exhausted experience

The build-up has been dominated by the shock of senior trio Mary Earps, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright not going to Switzerland. While Millie Bright’s departure — due to physical and mental burnout — raises questions over player welfare and how the FA and clubs are looking after these athletes, Earps and Kirby calling it quits has people pointing fingers at the boss.

Earps is the cultural icon of the Wiegman reign. Her heroic performances in 2022, the fight against Nike to have her shirt sold, and her expletives after saving Jenni Hermoso’s penalty in the 2023 final have made her both a fan favourite and an iconic symbol of this era many people weren’t ready to let go of.

While Kirby never reached that level of fame, she’s arguably the best England player of the last decade, and would have ended the argument without injuries. She played every minute of the 2022 tournament where her creativity and directness were vital to that triumph, giving England a magical spark that could see her win games before her marker realised she’d breezed past them.

So, between the three of them, that’s 218 international caps vanished on the eve of a tournament.

Not ideal.

But while these three legends of English football would bring stability and confidence to any nervy knockout game the Lionesses could face, Wiegman still has a strong core of players who have done it before and can help lift the next generation to repeat their success. Well, as long as there’s nothing wrong with, say, the fitness of many of these other senior players.

Uh...

Enter Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Georgia Stanway, and Lauren James. All four have played important roles for England at tournaments — the first three all starting in the 2023 final while James came off the bench at half time — and all four are coming off significant injuries while having little or no time to play themselves back into form.

Greenwood, Hemp, and Stanway all had knee surgeries this season, with the Man City duo only returning in the dying weeks of the WSL while Stanway returned to the pitch in England’s recent win over Portugal. James, on the other hand, hasn’t played a minute since April, and was the biggest question mark in the weeks leading up to the squad announcement (or at least, we thought she would be).

This all feels comically English: the off-field turmoil, the sideways glances at the

manager, even bringing the star player despite their questionable fitness are

all staples of the England experience. But what’s frustrating about this situation is

how unforced and unlucky so much of it is.

There’s not a manager in the world who wouldn’t bring James to the tournament, no matter what condition she’s in. The other three getting minutes, meanwhile, will allow Wiegman to exhale a little bit. But coupled with the loss of three legends? The coach’s desire to bed in the new generation right when so many of her trusted veterans may not be able to play every game seems like she’s sacrificing these Euros to build to the 2027 World Cup.

There are just so many uncertainties around this team right now, and the only way to

overcome these will be if the new generation can step up to the task.

The New Era

One issue of Wiegman’s reign has been her side’s predictability, so a look towards the next generation in a bid to defend their Euros crown and to win that elusive World Cup makes complete sense.

Since the 2023 World Cup final, she has given nine players their senior debuts, but only three of those have made the plane: Grace Clinton, Aggie Beever-Jones and Michelle Agyemang. Meanwhile Jess Park, who joins Clinton as one of only five midfielders, has never played in an international tournament, nor has new number one ‘keeper Hannah Hampton. Oh yeah, and neither of her backups (Anna Moorhouse and Khiara Keating) have even made their senior debuts yet.

Again, not ideal.

But if there’s one thing that Wiegman has repeatedly shown over her time in charge, it’s that she knows what’s best for this England team, and while putting such a load on these young players backs is a huge risk, it has the potential to kick start the next decade.

She needs someone to play the ‘Alessia Russo role’ or, put simply, have a breakthrough summer. The then-22-year-old wasn’t unheard of at the time, but opponents weren’t ready for her to have such an impact off the bench that summer. She ended the tournament as the second top scorer for England and a bonafide national hero; now Sarina is looking at someone to take up that mantle.

Beever-Jones is the obvious candidate. Her recent 33-minute hat-trick against Portugal only added to the hype that an excellent end to Chelsea’s treble-winning campaign had begun, and she will likely start on the bench behind Russo. While she lacks the overall game of the Arsenal striker, her ability as a natural goal scorer could be vital for England in those tight games that come down to a single opportunity, and this is her chance to take that next step.

Midfielders Park and Clinton, however, may have a very different task. One of them will likely start alongside Stanway and Kiera Walsh, needing to provide the creativity and directness lost by Kirby’s absence. I think this role will fall to Clinton, as her bravery on the ball may be the spark that England have so often missed. She’s not yet a player you build the system around, but she is someone who teammates gravitate towards and trust during tricky situations, something she showed in England’s 1-0 over Spain in February.

It's impossible to know how these new additions will fare in the pressure cooker of an international tournament, and they add to endless uncertainties around this squad. Yes, one injury or someone not living up to their potential could be disastrous for this side’s chances this summer. Through such a difficult build up, however, Wiegman is telling one of these young players to make themselves the story and be the face of this new generation that she’s desperately trying to bring in.