Wiegman names England squad for Greece play-offs as Kelly and Toone miss out
Sarina Wiegman has named a 23-player England squad for the World Cup qualifying play-offs against Greece, with Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone out and Lexi Potter called up for the first time.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Sarina Wiegman has named a 23-player England squad for the Women's World Cup qualifying play-offs against Greece. England face Greece home and away, beginning next Friday, as they try to reach next summer's World Cup in Brazil.
The Lionesses won five of their six qualifying games and lost only to world champions Spain. But they did not top their group, so they must go through not one but two rounds of knockout play-off games. Wiegman said missing out on automatic qualification was disappointing, and she accepted that England cannot change the campaign now.
Speaking at St George's Park, Wiegman said: "I think we had a pretty good campaign with five wins and one loss. So that's the fact. So we can't look back, and we can't control that anymore. This is a fact, and we have to play Greece now. And we expect ourselves to have good performances and win these games, never take anything for granted."
The squad includes 23 players. Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Euros final and helped England retain the title last year, has been left out. Ella Toone is also absent. Wiegman has said she expects more from performances.
There are changes elsewhere. Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter, 20, comes into the squad for the first time after impressing Wiegman this season. Captain Leah Williamson returns after missing the last round of international matches through injury.
England's fixtures against Greece are the first step in a two-round play-off route. Wiegman said her side expects to produce good performances and win, but she warned that nothing should be taken for granted.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone were left out of the England squad for the Greece games. | |
| England failed to top their qualifying group and must play two rounds of knockout play-offs, starting with Greece home and away. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV's bulletin led on the practical pressure facing England after they failed to qualify automatically. It framed the Greece matches as crucial knockout play-offs, gave prominence to the omissions of Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone, and noted the first call-up for Lexi Potter and Leah Williamson's return from injury. The tone was straight news reporting, with a short clip of Wiegman setting out her expectation that England win.
- “I think we had a pretty good campaign with five wins and one loss. So that's the fact. So we can't look back, and we can't control that anymore.”
- “we expect ourselves to have good performances and win these games, never take anything for granted.”
- “Most notably, perhaps, Chloe Kelly, who scored that iconic goal in the 2022 Euros final when the Lionesses lifted that trophy for the first time”
Who was on air
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- 13:47 BST
Sarina Wiegman, Lioness boss
“And I think we had a pretty good campaign with five wins”
ITV Lunchtime News · Tue 29 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
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