The countdown is switched on for the euro because the first international window of 2025 is now in full swing.
England started his Nations League campaign with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Portugal and is now the challenge of testing itself against world champions in Spain. While the next game is always the most important thing, it is not to deny that everything that England does until summer will be partially influenced by the upcoming tournament in Switzerland.
Sarina Wiegmans squad takes shape and the picture who makes the plane becomes clearer. This means that there is still enough time for players on the edge to feel themselves and force the manager’s hand, be it for a place in the squad or a starting point of the opening against France.
Here, 90 minutes Take a look at four players who have to take advantage of their chances in the last months before the tournament and who still have a lot to prove …
At first glance, this may seem like a brave choice, since Lauren James is one of the most talented players in England and can operate in different positions. However, injuries have led to it has been in the squad and out of the squad since the World Cup two years ago, and this month is marking their first commitment to the Lionesses for ten months.
At the moment, the injured hemp of Lauren is suitable for the euro, which means that a struggle for the left wing spot will probably develop. Of course, James can play elsewhere, but she has previously admitted that she feels the most at home on this flank.
The performance on Friday in Portugal showed flashes of the quality that she brings – direct runs, fearlessness, opponents, pace and intelligence. James from her best were able to address England for great things, but the Portuguese game also emphasized the wasteful side.
The starting point of the Chelsea star in front of the euro is anything but guaranteed. The 23-year-old not only has to prove himself in relation to availability, but when she shows that she deserves one of the first names in the team leaf.
Grace Clinton’s rise in the English squad last year was incredibly impressive. She has proven herself at the club level and continues to make progress with the lionesses.
Apart from that, she may not have been a guaranteed starter in the midfield in the euro if Georgia Stanway did not suffer any injury at the end of the season. Now Clinton’s role has changed drastically, and she will probably be a key player that Wiegman turns this summer.
Your first half against Portuguese dynamics and football information. Like the rest of the team, however, her second half showed a lot of space for improvements and underlined the level that she had to do to become an integral part of England.
Kika Nazareth got past Clinton late in the game and showed the strength to hold the midfielder when she stormed forward to achieve the balance from Portugal. It is an important lesson from which Clinton has to learn before summer.
Unfortunately, for Aggie Beever-Jones, her season was limited in an England shirt. Surprisingly, Wiegman seemed to hesitate to impress the Chelsea striker, despite its ability to impress the bank at the club level.
The 21-year-old won’t have many minutes to prove herself, but she has to show that she is able to be England’s backup striker. In the best case, the lion women always had the top talent from the bank, like Alessia Russo behind Ellen White at the last euros.
This role has been won since Rachel Daly’s international retirement, and nobody has confiscated it with both hands. Beever-Jones now has four months to prove that she can be that.
Nobody may have entered this international camp with a larger point to prove it than Chloe Kelly. Not least because she was not even part of Wiegman’s initial squad.
Kelly’s lack of playing time in Manchester City was a growing problem, which certainly disabled her chances at England, even though she was selected. It is clear that the 27-year-old also recognized the risk of losing her place, which caused her to be forced by a step in January.
Now she has the rest of the season to force Wiegman’s hand and ensure that she is firmly in the manager’s idea. Interestingly, her new Arsenal teammate Beth Mead will be her biggest competition, but Jess Naz’s rise in Tottenham has expanded further pressure to large places.