With senior defenders missing is this the real changing of the guard for Wiegman's England?
Millie Bright's retirement and fitness issues for key players open door for fresh faces ahead of World Cup cycle
England begin the start of a new major-tournament cycle this week as Sarina Wiegman comes together with her players for the first time since July’s Euro 2025 triumph.
After England’s Euro preparations were disrupted by the retirement of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby, there was more noise for Wiegman to contend with in this latest window, as Millie Bright became the latest senior player to call time on international football.
Last week, Bright revealed on her podcast ‘The Rest is Football: Daly Brightness’ that she was stepping away from England duty, saying: “I’ve been weighing this up for a long time. It’s one of those decisions no one can make for you. It’s a feeling and I’m at peace with it.
“Having the summer to reflect, fix my knee and get my head straight really put things into perspective. As you get older, your priorities change. I’ve been craving family time, time with friends and time for myself.”
Bright pulled out of contention for Euro 2025, citing physical and mental fatigue, and had previously mentioned on her podcast that she was open to playing for England in the future.
However, in her press conference last week, Wiegman said she had a conversation with the defender and wanted her to be part of England’s plans going forward, but that the 32-year-old had made the call.
“She had been thinking about it very thoroughly,” said Wiegman, “and when a player makes a decision like this when you’ve had such an incredible career internationally, then it’s not appropriate to have that conversation [to try and convince her to stay].”
It’s not just Bright’s retirement that Wiegman’s defence has to contend with: captain Leah Williamson is still dealing with an injury she picked up in Switzerland, and right-back Lucy Bronze is working her way back to full fitness after playing with a broken tibia at Euro 2025, albeit she has been named in this latest England camp.
Searching for defensive depth
It was always unclear whether Bright, who captained England at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, would return to Wiegman’s squad and what role she would even play, but her departure, on top of Williamson’s injury and Bronze’s lack of minutes, means England are operating within an intriguing new reality as they embark on the next cycle ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
Bronze, who is committed to playing for England for as long as is physically possible, is 33, and Williamson, who has had her fair share of injuries over the last few seasons, is 28. Both of them have been key players during Wiegman’s successful tenure, starting every game at Euro 2022 and in the summer.
England’s head coach had looked to invite some fresh young faces into this October camp, but Arsenal’s Katie Reid picked up an injury with her club that forced the 18-year-old to withdraw.
In her place, Wiegman has called up Grace Fisk from Liverpool. The centre-back has never won a senior cap and hasn’t featured in the England set-up since Phil Neville picked her back in 2020. She’s joined by Taylor Hinds, another graduate of England’s Under-23s who had initially failed to break through to the senior squad and declared for Jamaica in 2024. The full-back moved from Liverpool to Arsenal this summer and has started twice for her new club, both games coming in the Champions League.
The fact that Wiegman has called up both unproven youngsters and overlooked WSL stalwarts this window is a sign that she is searching for much-needed depth for her defence.
Alex Greenwood, who will likely captain England over these two friendlies, is also a player that has suffered with injury problems in recent years and, at 32, is one of the older players in the squad.
England’s other defenders in this camp comprise Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Niamh Charles and Lotte Wubben-Moy. Charles is the only player from that list who has more than 20 caps for her country.
The age of the squad has been a long-term issue for their head coach, but the last few months have pulled it into focus and created pressure to blood new players and give opportunities to those who have been waiting in the wings.
One of those players is Le Tissier, who is seen as a right-back by Wiegman despite captaining her club Manchester United at centre-back.
Wiegman has shown, albeit with a little bit of luck during Euro 2025, that she is the master of where she deploys her players. Question marks over personnel and positions ultimately give way to success. In the next 18 months, though, we could see a huge shift in what this England defence looks like on the way to the World Cup.
Probably the last thing I should be picking up on in all of this observation, but do you see Greenwood taking the armband over Walsh? She seems to have been Wiegmans backup when she subs out Williamson.