England: Leah Williamson returns to Lionesses squad for Euro 2025 qualifiers
England captain Leah Williamson has been named in the squad for the Euro 2025 qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
Williamson could get her first cap since April last year.
She captained England to the 2022 Euros win at Wembley. But the Arsenal star missed out on the World Cup, where England lost in the final to Spain, due to an ACL injury.
In January she returned to the Arsenal squad. She was called up for friendlies against Austria and Italy in February but later withdrew due to a minor injury.
Defender Millie Turner is also included. She replaced Williamson in February.
Chelsea centre-back Millie Bright, who took over captaincy duties during the World Cup, misses out through injury.
England boss Sarina Wiegman said: “Of course I’m very happy. The squad looks good.
“I’m looking forward to working with [Williamson] again. We all didn’t expect [her to pull out in February] and she the least, so it was a hard one to take and a big disappointment for her and us too.”
It was a minor hamstring problem that caused Williamson to withdraw from the last gathering.
“But you have to get back playing games,” Wiegman said. “She recovered really well, it doesn’t take too long which is good. Now she is getting into a rhythm. Of course she has not played many games yet, but she is getting there and she needs the minutes now.”
England face Sweden at Wembley on Friday, 5 April and the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Tuesday, 9 April.
As well as Sweden and the Republic, England will face France in their League A qualifying group, with the top two automatically progressing and the other two sides entering the play-offs.
Qualifiers take place from April to July, with the tournament scheduled for July 2025 in Switzerland.
Among those to miss out are Manchester United’s leading scorer Nikita Parris and Chelsea forward Aggie Beever-Jones, who was called up to the senior England squad for the friendly win over Italy having impressed with the under-23s.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City)
Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Millie Turner (Manchester United), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Grace Clinton (Tottenham, on loan from Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona)
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal)
