England manager Sarina Wiegman 'pretty close' to finalising Lionesses squad for UEFA Women's Euro title defence ahead of crunch Nations League match
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Published 02/06/2025 at 16:42 GMT+1
Sarina Wiegman will name her England squad for the 2025 UEFA European Women's Championship this Thursday, June 5. "We are pretty close," the Lionesses manager revealed ahead of a crunch match against world champions Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday. England are defending European Champions after their historic extra-time win over Germany in the final at Wembley back in 2022.
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Sarina Wiegman says she is "pretty close" to finalising her Lionesses squad selection for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship.
The tournament, which is being held in Switzerland this year, gets underway on Wednesday, July 2.
England are defending champions after famously beating Germany at Wembley in the final of Euro 2022, when Chloe Kelly scored the winner in extra time.
After reaching the final of the Women’s World Cup a year later, fans are eagerly anticipating another summer of excitement from the Lionesses.
But first, the Nations League.
They play world champions Spain on Tuesday (June 3) in a deciding match to qualify for the finals. Spain are currently two points clear at the top of Group A3 with England in second, so only a win will do for the Lionesses.
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"Of course, you still want to go to the game tomorrow and then make the final decisions, but we are pretty close," said Wiegman, speaking on squad selection for Euro 2025.
"If a player has a little injury and would be a risk for the Euros then I wouldn’t play her, that’s the difference.
"Short-term we are trying to win that game, a little longer-term is preparation for the Euros, which is the bigger picture."
England’s squad has seen big changes since their seminal victory three years ago. Some key players from that Euro 2022-winning team have now retired, including Ellen White, Jill Scott and Rachel Daly. More recently, goalkeeper Mary Earps announced she would be standing down from international football.
Several emerging talents have since stepped up on the national stage, though. Grace Clinton and Maya Le Tissier are among notable new stars, alongside forward Aggie Beever-Jones, who scored a first-half hat-trick against Portugal last week.
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There are hopes that Lauren James will be fit enough to play in Switzerland, too. The forward picked up a hamstring injury on international duty back in April and is still recovering.
"She’s trying to get fit with all the support from Chelsea and us," Wiegman said.
"She is doing really well. She needs to tick some boxes and progress. We need her to be fit and healthy and perform at her highest level. I’m pretty sure that’ll work for us."
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Tomorrow’s opponents, Spain, are a formidable force and arguably favourites for next month’s Euros.
However, the Lionesses will take confidence from their 1–0 home win over them in the Nations League group stages earlier this year.
"We know how to beat Spain and they know how to beat us," added defender Lucy Bronze.
"I think we’re probably one of the most adaptable teams in the world. We can counter-attack, press the ball, we can play in behind. We’ve got fast players, technical players.
"We’ve already beaten them once this year so we’ve got a lot of confidence from that.
"It’s not the be-all and end-all tomorrow — in terms of the Nations League, it is. We might not even face Spain in the Euros. We get confidence from ourselves and others."
Sarina Wiegman is due to name her 23-player squad for Euro 2025 this Thursday, June 5.
England have been drawn in a tough group for the tournament, alongside France, Wales and the Netherlands.
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