Can the Lionesses bring it home? (Picture: GETTY)
The Women’s World Cup final on Sunday promises to be a thriller, as England’s Lionesses take on Spain.
Kick-off is scheduled for 11am – as the match is being played in Sydney, Australia – and fans will gather around screens at home and in parks to cheer England on.
Spain were England’s most difficult opponents in last year’s Euros and it took an extra-time winner in the quarter-finals to beat them.
England reached their first Women’s World Cup final by seeing off a dogged challenge from Australia’s Matildas, with goalscorer Ella Toone taking over from Lauren James who has now completed a two-match ban.
So as manager Sarina Wiegman prepares to announce her starting XI, who are the Lionesses and which clubs do they play for?
Let’s take a look.
Goalkeepers
Mary Earps
One of the stars of UEFA Euro 2022, Nottingham-born Mary Earps joined the Women’s Senior team in 2017 and has to date 40 senior caps plus she’s kept 24 clean sheets.
Legendary keeper Mary Earps celebrating England’s semi-final win (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Before arriving at her current club, Manchester United, Mary, 30, spent time playing for hometown club Nottingham Forest, Bristol City, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Reading and German giants Wolfsburg.
Hannah Hampton
Birmingham-born Hannah Hampton, 22, joined the senior women’s squad in March 2020 and has two senior caps to her name – both clean sheets.
Hannah Hampton was all smiles arriving for the semi-final (Picture: Elsa – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
She fell in love with football while growing up in Spain and currently plays for Chelsea FC Women.
Ellie Roebuck
Ellie Roebuck, 23, is from Sheffield and has 11 senior caps with 6 clean sheets.
Ellie Roebuck plays for Manchester City (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
She had a breakthrough season at her current club Manchester City in 2018, announcing herself on the big stage with a super save against Chelsea, and made her England debut the same year.
Defenders
Millie Bright
Millie Bright, 29, from Chesterfield, first played for England back in 2016 and has 72 senior caps with 5 goals.
Millie Bright celebrating the team’s 3-1 semi-final victory over Australia (Picture: Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
She was one of the figureheads of Euro 2022, where she was vice-captain, and currently plays for Chelsea FC Women.
Lucy Bronze
Arguably one of the best right-backs in women’s football, Lucy, 31, has a whopping 111 senior caps and 12 goals.
Lucy Bronze is the team’s most-capped player (Picture: Sajad Imanian/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Born in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, the FC Barcelona player has had spells at Sunderland, Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City, plus helped Lyon to win the 2017 Champions League.
Jess Carter
Jess Carter, 25, from Warwick, made her England debut in 2017’s 5-0 win over Kazakhstan when she appeared as a substitute for Lucy Bronze.
Jess Carter plays for Chelsea Women FC(Credits: REUTERS)
She was a regular on the WSL scene with her first club, Birmingham City, and now plays for Chelsea FC Women, having 23 senior England caps and one goal.
Niamh Charles
Niamh Charles, 24, was first called up to the Lionesses in 2020 to join a training camp, and she also moved to current club Chelsea FC Women that same year.
Niamh Charles heading out for her semi-final warm up (Picture: Maddie Meyer – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
A pacy winger from the Wirral, Niamh started off with her childhood team Liverpool, but moved south after they were relegated from the WSL. She has 9 senior England caps.
Alex Greenwood
Alex Greenwood, 29, from Liverpool, has played for England 80 times, scoring five goals.
Alex Greenwood plays for Manchester City WFC (Picture: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
She was the youngest member of England’s 2015 World Cup squad and began her career at Everton, going on to captain Manchester United and joining Lyon. Alex currently plays for Manchester City WFC.
Esme Morgan
Esme Morgan, 22, from Sheffield, has five senior England caps and is known for her versatility, capable of filling roles in the centre, right-back or as a defensive midfielder.
Esme Morgan is a lifelong Manchester City fan (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Despite growing up in South Yorkshire she’s a lifelong Manchester City fan, and has rises through the ranks with the Blues. She also spent time on loan to Everton.
Lotte Wubben-Moy
Lotte Wubben-Moy, 24, is from London and has 10 senior England caps, plus numerous appearances in the youth squad.
Lotte Wubben-Moy rose through the ranks at Arsenal (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
She rose through the ranks ar Arsenal WFC, where she made her first-team debut back in 2015 as a teenager. Lotte also spent two years playing for famous USA team North Carolina Tar Heels.
Midfielders
Laura Coombs
Laura Coombs, 32, is from Gravesend in Kent.
Laura Coombs plays for Manchester City (Picture: Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
She has been a regular for the Lionesses for many years at various levels, and played for Chelsea and Liverpool before joining current club Manchester City WFC. Laura has seven senior England caps.
Jordan Nobbs
Jordan Nobbs, 30, from Stockton-on-Tees, has 71 senior England caps and 8 goals.
Jordan Nobbs is with Aston Villa (Picture: Justin Setterfield – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
She captained England in the 2008 U17’s World Cup, and captained Arsenal to WSL glory in 2019. Jordan currently plays for Aston Villa WFC.
Georgia Stanway
Georgia Stanway, 24, from Barrow-in-Furness, scored a stunning winner against Spain at Euro 2022, and is known to be comfortable in a number of attacking positions, with 56 senior caps and 16 goals.
Georgia Stanway scored the winning goal at Euro 2022 (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
She played for Manchester City before it was announced last year that Jordan would be moving to current club FC Bayern Munich.
Ella Toone
Ella Toone, 23, from Tyldesley, has 37 senior caps with a whopping 17 goals.
Ella scored England’s first goal inm the semi-final (Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
She started her career at Manchester United, and spent three seasons at Blackburn Rovers before joining Manchester City in 2016, but returned to current club Manchester United in 2018.
Keira Walsh
Keira Walsh, 26, from Rochdale, has 64 senior caps and currently plays for FC Barcelona.
Keira Walsh was stretchered off early in the tournament with a knee injury but was soon back playing (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
She captained England in her seventh appearance for the team, and played for Manchester City before transferring to Barcelona in 2022 and won the UEFA Champions League final in her first season there, alongside Lucy Bronze.
Katie Zelem
Katie Zelem, 27, from Oldham, was a regular Young Lioness and comes from a footballing family as both her father, Alan, and uncle, Peter, played professionally.
Katie Zelem comes from a footballing family (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
She started her career at Manchester United before moving to Liverpool, and Italian side Juventus, before returning to current club United. Katie has 10 senior caps.
Forwards
Rachel Daly
Rachel Daly, 31, from Harrogate, has 75 senior caps and 14 goals to her name and is also know for her versatility as a full-back, wing back on on the frontline.
Rachel Daly is known as a ‘real character’ (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Known as a ‘real character’ in the dressing room, she currently plays for Aston Villa, and was previous at USA team Houston Dash, and appeared in every England match at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bethany England
Bethany England, 29, from Barnsley, has 25 senior caps witlh11 goals and currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur WFC.
Bethany England plays for Tottenham Hotspur (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
During her time at Liverpool, Bethany finished as the third-highest scorer in the league, and scored 19 goals for Chelsea during the WSL 2018-19 season, when the Blues finished third.
Lauren Hemp
Lauren Hemp, 23, from North Walsham, has been known as one of football’s exciting young talents for many years, and she played for North Walsham’s boys’ team before joining Bristol City.
Lauren Hemp scored the second semi-final goal (Picture: Sajad Imanian/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
She currently plays for Manchester City – which she joined aged 17 – and has 44 senior caps with 13 goals.
Lauren James
Lauren James, 21, from London, currently plays for Chelsea FC Women having joined the Academy there at the age of 6.
Lauren James plays for Chelsea, as does her brother, Reece (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Her brother, Reece, is a regular with the England men’s squad, and she made her debut at Arsenal on her 17th birthday back in 2018, before returning to Chelsea. She has 15 senior caps and 4 goals.
Chloe Kelly
Chloe Kelly, 25, scored the extra-time goal to give England the 2-1 victory over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2022 final at Wembley, after coming back from a knee injury.
Chloe Kelly’s goal secured England’s Euro 2022 victory (Picture: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
The Londoner made her name at Everton and current club Manchester City, having been spotted by Arsenal while playing in a park. She has five older brothers and was ‘rarely without a ball at her feet’ growing up.
Katie Robinson
Katie Robinson, 21, from Newquay, Cornwall, got her first senior call up in Nocvember 2022, and has five caps.
Katie is a relatively new Lioness (Picture: Naomi Baker – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Known as a speedy winger, she started her career playing local, grassroots boys’ football, and was snapped up by Bristol City where she made her debut in 2018. She joined Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020.
Alessia Russo
Alessia Russo, 24, from Kent, was one of the stand-out players at Euro 2022, and has 28 senior caps with 14 goals.
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Before heading to the US to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Alessia moved through the ranks at Chelsea, and has also played for Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United. She is currently at Arsenal.
Manager
Sarina Wiegman
Sarina Wiegman, 23, from the Netherlands, began her role as England head coach in 2021, and in her playing days as a midfielder, gained 104 caps for her country.
Sarina Wiegman is the Lionesses’ manager (Picture: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
She moved into coaching full-time in 2007 and became the first woman to coach a men’s professional club in her home land during her time at Sparta Rotterdam.
Of the 38 games she has managed, Sarina has won 32.
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MORE : Lionesses have roared their way to the World Cup final by shutting out the noise
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We know they’ll bring it home.