Hege Riise Names Her First Lionesses Squad as 11 Players Snubbed

Hege Riise has named her first England Lionesses squad for this month’s training camp plus behind-closed-doors friendly against Northern Ireland. 

Riise has opted to name a 20 woman squad featuring Manchester City’s Ellen White and Steph Houghton amongst selected players, having taken over as interim manager following Phil Neville’s exit last month.

11 players who featured in November’s training camp consequently miss out including Chelsea goalkeeper, Carly Telford.

Manchester City’s Demi Stokes and Esme Morgan miss out in defence alongside Man Utd’s Millie Turner and Grace Fisk of West Ham.

Arsenal’s Jordan Nobbs who missed Sunday’s Women Super League defeat to Man City through injury has retained her place in the squad, as Niamh Charles, Laura Coombs and Lucy Staniforth are snubbed.

Up front, Beth Mead is a surprise omission alongside recent newcomers – Lauren James and Rinsola Babajide, whilst Nikita Parris and Toni Duggan are unavailable due to playing aboard for Lyon and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Riise’s selection was based on merit which contains a sharp focus on physical capability, fitness and versatility to cope with demands of major tournaments, as the Lionesses build towards this summer’s Olympics then Women’s Euros in Summer 2022 on home soil.

Speaking on her unexpected shakeup, Riise said: “I’ve watched a lot of England and club matches and believe this is a group of players who are capable of winning at a major tournament.”

Riise however is aware that Sarina Wiegman will take charge from this Autumn but believes that her role in coming months will be important, saying: My work from now until Sarina Wiegman’s arrival is to develop their ability, playing style and physical conditioning to contribute to future success – this summer and beyond.”

England will host Northern Ireland during their training camp albeit behind-closed-doors at St George’s Park, which Riise feels will be a morale boost, adding: “It’s great for the players to have an official fixture to look forward to and is an opportunity to implement everything they have worked on…”

Here is the full squad selection for England’s training camp and behind-closed-doors friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday 23 February (12:30pm GMT).

Goalkeepers: Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Sandy Maclver (Everton), Hannah Hampton (Birmingham City)

Defence: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Manchester City), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

Midfield: Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jill Scott (Everton – on loan from Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Manchester City)

Forwards: Bethany England (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Ellen White (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea)