England Lionesses’ manager Sarina Wiegman has named her 26-player squad for 2023 Arnold Clark Cup.
Jessica Park replaces Arsenal’s Beth Mead who has been ruled out with a serious knee injury for the rest of season, although the BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner could return in time for the Women’s World Cup in late July.
Manchester United’s Nikita Parris meanwhile also misses out up front as part of Wiegman’s experimentations with the squad selection.
Chelsea’s Jess Carter replaces Esme Morgan in defence whilst captain, Leah Williamson returns to the squad after she missed November’s friendlies against Japan and Norway through injury.
In midfield, Jordan Nobbs has been snubbed in favour of Laura Coombs – who has extended her contract at Manchester City until 2025 just hours before confirmation of her call-up.
Wiegman meanwhile has handed goalkeeper, Emily Ramsey her first senior call-up to bolster her goalkeeping options alongside the retained trio of; Mary Earps, Sandy Maclver and Ellie Roebuck.
Addressing her squad tweaks for this month’s Arnold Clark Cup, Wiegman commented: “The first camp of the year is always important to set the right tone for what comes next, especially with such a big opportunity in the summer,” said Wiegman.
“We’re only looking forward now and we have to stay humble and focused on working hard. We know the fans will be with us again and we can’t wait to see them at every stadium.”
On what she is hoping to get out of this month’s friendly invitational tournament heading into the World Cup, Wiegman added: “We had a positive experience with the Arnold Clark Cup last time.
“We had three tough matches with different challenges in each one, and we were able to learn a lot from our performances and work on many details which we are aiming to do again.”
England will kick off their title defence against South Korea on 16 February, before facing Italy and Belgium on 19 and 22 February respectively.
ITV4 will broadcast the Lionesses’ clashes against South Korea and Belgium in 7:45pm GMT kick-offs, whilst ITV1 will air England’s meeting against Italy at 3pm on 19 February.
Here is the 26-player squad in full to face South Korea, Italy and Belgium.
Goalkeepers – Mary Earps (Manchester United), Sandy Maclver (Manchester City), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Emily Ramsey (Everton)
Defence – Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfield – Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Kiera Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards – Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Jessica Park (Everton – on loan from Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton & Hove Albion), Alessio Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash)
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