England boss Sarina Wiegman says she was not prepared to take the risks with Beth Mead’s fitness after leaving her out of her squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros last summer, misses out after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November.
Asked if there was ever a chance the Arsenal winger could have been in the squad, Wiegman told a press conference: “No, I don’t think so.
“Beth is so positive and she’s going really well, but we said the time schedule she had, we would have taken so many risks to try to get her to the World Cup.
“Very early we said we’re not going to take that risk, I’m not willing to take that risk, to push her too much and then she gets injured again. We have to take care of players and do what’s smart, and not do what’s a little bit naive.”
There is a recall for in-form Bethany England, back involved for the first time since last September.
The forward has scored 12 Women’s Super League goals for Tottenham after joining from Chelsea in January, and Wiegman said: “She was at Chelsea, she didn’t get the minutes.
“Then she made a move and started playing. Tottenham was having a hard time, but how she performed and how much resilience she showed – I think that’s what made us make the decision to get her in the squad.”
Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze, also sidelined of late, do feature in a 23-player list from which skipper Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby had already been ruled out due to injury.
Wiegman confirmed Bright is set to captain the side, and regarding her and Bronze’s recoveries from knee surgery, she said: “Lucy is fit and fully in training, and Millie is in a good place, so we’re positive.
“She’s still building but we have some time. We need to build a little more but it looks good.”
On Williamson’s absence after suffering an ACL injury of her own in April, Wiegman said: “Of course, most of all for her it’s very disappointing and sad, and that’s the same for Fran and for Beth Mead.
“But you have to move on too. This is unfortunately part of top sports, that you can get injured. You hope to make that risk as small as possible but it can happen and someone else steps up and it gives an opportunity.”
Jordan Nobbs is included despite sustaining an injury in Aston Villa’s penultimate game of the season, Katie Zelem has been brought back after not making the last squad in April, and there is no recall for Williamson’s predecessor as captain Steph Houghton.
Jess Park, Maya Le Tissier – who Wiegman said was “really close” to making the 23 – and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby.
Wiegman said there had been “hard decisions” and that while some players were missing through injury, she still feels “we have a very good squad, very good depth in the squad.”
England get their campaign at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand under way by facing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22, and will also take on Denmark and China in Group D.
Wiegman was also asked about the diversity of the squad in terms of there being 22 white players out of 23, and said: “Of course I understand that people look at it like that, and I really hope that will change, but that won’t change overnight.
“I know the FA is doing lots of things, with ‘Discover My Talent’, ‘Let Girls Play’, to get everyone who wants to play football, whatever background you have, or wherever you come from, that you have access to it.
“I think what our players did after the Euros, (asking to) have access in schools, which now had a big result, hopefully that brings more girls with different backgrounds into the game, so in the future we have more players from different backgrounds in the national team too. But for now I think that takes a little more time.”
Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Nagelsmann's side thump visitors to confirm top spot
Germany posted a commanding 7-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate fixture in Freiburg to secure top spot in Group A3 of the Nations League.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst scored two goals each while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on the scoresheet as the Germans posted their fourth win and maintained a five-point lead over the Netherlands in second place.
Julian Nagelsmann's side made a blistering start as Musiala headed home with just 78 seconds on the clock.
Borussia Monchengladbach striker Kleindienst then opened his account for Germany as Robert Andrich's effort deflected off him on its way into the goal in the 23rd minute.
Havertz ensured the hosts went into the interval with a three-goal lead, while Wirtz added two more, including a superb free-kick, before the clock struck the hour mark, effectively ending Bosnia's hopes of a comeback.
Sane joined the party in the 66th minute with Germany's sixth before Kleindienst sealed the victory with his second of the night, a close-range finish, 11 minutes later.
The hosts will wrap up their group stage campaign with a trip to Budapest to face Hungary on Tuesday, while Bosnia, sitting bottom with one point, will host group runners-up Netherlands.
Netherlands 4-0 Hungary: Hosts cruise into Nations League quarter-finals
The Netherlands booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday.
Two first-half penalties had put the hosts in control before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners secured second place in Group A3 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
A medical emergency on the Hungary bench saw the game suspended after eight minutes, but play resumed with a Netherlands penalty after a Tamas Nikitscher handball, and Wout Weghorst confidently converted.
Cody Gakpo then doubled their lead from the spot in first-half stoppage time when Zsolt Nagy tripped Donyell Malen in the box, and Denes Dibusz was sent the wrong way once more.
Weghorst whipped a delightful, long-range curler against the crossbar shortly after the restart, but Dumfries would get their third in the 64th minute with a drilled finish across goal into the far-bottom corner.
Koopmeiners rounded off the scoring late on, meeting Dumfries' inch-perfect cross to power a header past Dibusz and in at the far post, and was denied a second moments later by the post.
Data Debrief: Oranje march on
The Netherlands knew they needed to avoid defeat to make it to the last eight in the Nations League, but Ronald Koeman's side were not going to settle.
They were on the attack from the very start, registering 22 shots as they created 2.92 expected goals.
Dumfries was at the heart of both goals after half-time, and he became the second player in history to score each of his first nine international goals for the Netherlands in the second half, after Pierre van Hooijdonk (also nine).
'We will bounce back', says Taylor after losing WSL top spot
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor vowed his side will bounce back after they relinquished the lead in the Women's Super League with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten both scored in the space of four minutes late in the second half as defending champions Chelsea condemned City to their first league defeat and leapfrogged them to the summit.
Sonia Bompastor's side now have a two-point lead at the top and a game in hand over City, but Taylor was confident his side will continue fighting the Blues for the WSL title.
"We've always done really well on the occasions we have lost, and we don't lose often. It's a tight challenge," Taylor told Sky Sports after the match.
"We are coming to a team that has done well over the years. We will bounce back for certain. The league is never won in November.
"Football is about getting kicked, and it's how you get back up. We are right up there."
The game looked to be heading for a draw for the most part before Ramirez and Reiten struck in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively, as Chelsea ended the game with an xG of 0.85, compared to City's 0.56.
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