Khiara Keating and Grace Clinton have both received maiden call-ups for England’s UEFA Women’s Nations League fixtures against Belgium.
Clinton’s first senior call-up comes after she enjoyed a strong start to the season for Tottenham, with one goal in four appearances.
In goal, manager – Sarina Wiegman has retained Mary Earps, Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton as her goalkeepers alongside Keatings, who is set to gain her first senior experience in an England camp after having displaced Roebuck as Manchester City’s first-choice keeper this month.
Keira Walsh and Fran Kirby meanwhile return in midfield as Laura Coombs, Jordan Nobbs and Lucy Staniforth drop out.
Lotte Wubben Moy returns in defence after she withdrew from September’s international fixtures due to injury, with her replacement – Lucy Parker having retained her place in the squad.
Up front, Katie Robinson has been omitted with Jess Park promoted from midfield to the forward selection which otherwise remained relatively unchanged, with Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo amongst those to retain their spots.
Speaking about her squad selection, Wiegman iterated that she expects Belgium to pose “tough opposition” and can’t be underestimated in a “wide open,” group where every match will now be “crucial” across the next two months.
Th ex Netherlands manager however believes that her team can bounce back from their loss to the Netherlands last month, as she explained: “The squad have shown their ability to respond to setbacks and I’m sure this will be no different.”
England host Belgium at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Friday 27 October at 7:45pm BST, before heading to Leuven for the return leg on Tuesday 31 October at 7:30pm UK Time, with both matches televised live on ITV4 in the UK.
Here is the 25-player squad in full to face Belgium.
Goalkeepers – Mary Earps (Manchester United), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City)
Defence – Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Everton), Lucy Parker (Aston Villa), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfield – Grace Clinton (Tottenham Hotspur), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards – Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Jess Park (Manchester City), Alessio Russo (Arsenal)
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