England Women: 5 Lionesses expected to roar at Euro 2022
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Key England women players: 5 of the best at Euro 2022
England will host next month’s European Women’s Championship as 4/1 second favourites behind Spain.
Two weeks… 🤩 pic.twitter.com/1uxcMSA7Pj
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 22, 2022
Head coach Sarina Wiegman dropped Steph Houghton from her final 23-woman squad having failed to fully recover from an Achilles injury, so Leah Williamson will captain the Lionesses, who have two friendlies against defending champions Netherlands and Switzerland before the tournament gets under way against Austria on July 6.
The Lionesses are unbeaten since Wiegman took charge in September last year, scoring 75 goals and conceding just twice as we look at five key England women players in her talented squad.
Lauren Hemp
The Manchester City star is a truly world-class player whose skill and pace will be a major asset to the England cause at Euro 2022.
The 21-year-old forward has scored six goals in 19 appearances for England and proved how dangerous she can be by taking the accolade of the most fouled player at the Tokyo Olympics where she was representing Great Britain.
Hemp scored 10 goals in the WSL last season and ranked first for taking on players, while her assist and shots on target stats were also highly impressive.
Fran Kirby
Kirby made the cut despite being out for several months with a fatigue-related illness which left her struggling to walk her dog for longer than five minutes, but the attacking playmaker is managing her problem and came on for the last half an hour in the 3-0 win against Belgium on June 16.
Always with a football at my feet ⚽️ 😍 pic.twitter.com/JhUdcaMuwS
— Fran Kirby (@frankirby) June 21, 2022
The 28-year-old forward, who was diagnosed with a heart problem in 2019, has scored 122 goals in 127 league appearances for Reading and current club Chelsea so she will clearly be a threat if her fitness levels are good.
Lucy Bronze
The 2020 FIFA player of the year recently joined Barcelona after her contract in a second spell at Manchester City expired, but her focus is now on leading England to their first piece of major silverware.
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞. @FCBfemeni 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/fC8QILO3Wg
— Lucy Bronze (@LucyBronze) June 18, 2022
The 30-year-old right-back missed the autumn internationals after undergoing knee surgery in August, but started two of England’s three Arnold Clark Cup games in February, the goalless draw with Spain and 3-1 victory over Germany.
One of the best in the world in her position, Bronze is one of the key England women players that Wiegman will rely on at the tournament.
Ellen White
England’s all-time leading scorer with 50 goals is expected to lead the line despite missing the friendly with Netherlands after testing positive for coronavirus, but will be “monitored regularly with a view to returning to camp as soon as possible”.
Get well soon, @ellsbells89 💪
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 22, 2022
White, 33, scored the opener against Germany as the Lionesses won the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup four months ago and brought up a half-century in the 10-0 rout of North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier in April.
The Manchester City striker is the focal point of the Lionesses’ attack and her goals will be crucial to England’s chances of success.
Georgia Stanway
In a squad littered with talent, 23-year-old forward Stanway is the last of our key England Women players that could light up the international stage at Euro 2022.
Stanway is Manchester City’s all-time record goalscorer with 67 goals but last month left the club to join Bayern Munich.
She has scored eight goals in 31 appearances for England, including doubles in both World Cup qualifiers against North Macedonia and Northern Ireland in April, and is expected to add to her tally in July.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
