USWNT: England’s Roster for its upcoming friendly against the USA — Three NWSL players, first senior call-ups for two players (Updated)

Update (29-Nov-2024): On Tuesday, November 26th, Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy was called up due to Maya Le Tissier being in concussion protocol. Le Tissier will not be available for the USWNT’s match. (EnglandFootball.com) The text of this article has been updated accordingly.

For England’s friendly against the United States Women’s National Team, head coach Sarina Wiegman has called up nine starters from the last time the USA faced the Lionesses, along with some fresher faces, including four players who got their first England caps in 2024 and three uncapped players.

Among the uncapped players is Orlando Pride goalkeeper Emma Moorhouse, who is back for her third-straight England camp after getting called up for the first time during the summer (EnglandFootball.com feature). Two other NWSL players return: Defenders Jess Carter of Gotham FC and Esme Morgan of the Washington Spirit.

The two first-time call-ups are both midfielders from England’s Under-23 squad: Manchester City’s Laura Blindkilde Brown and Leicester City’s Ruby Mace. Both are more likely to get their first senior caps against England’s second opponent of this window, Euro 2025 host Switzerland, than against the USWNT.

While the USWNT will be without its “Triple Espresso”, the Lionesses will also be missing some key players due to injuries, most notably forward Lauren Hemp (age 24, 61 caps, 18 goals), midfielder Ella Toone (age 25, 53 caps, 19 goals), and forward Lauren James (age 23, 24 caps, 7 goals). Other players mentioned as unavailable are outside-back Niamh Charles (age 25, 18 caps, no goals) and the uncapped Lucy Parker (age 26), who played collegiately for UCLA and LSU. Meanwhile, former UNC Tarheel center-back Lotte Wubben-Moy (age 25, 13 caps, 1 goal) is just returning from a foot injury and was not called up.

Manchester United center-back Gabby George is back in camp with the Lionesses for the first time since 2022. Her absence was extended by an ACL injury in October 2023 (BBC).

Along with head coach Sarina Wiegman, three players named to this roster played collegiately for the UNC Tarheels: Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo (player profile), and Lotte Wubben-Moy (player profile).

For this camp, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United each contribute four players. No other clubs are represented by multiple players. In addition to the three NWSL players, three other players ply their trades beyond the borders of England: Mary Earps (Paris Saint-Germain), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), and Keira Walsh (Barcelona).

Roster, Alphabetical, By Position

Each hyperlinked player name links to their EnglandFootball.com profile. Bolded team names are NWSL clubs and link to the player’s NWSL stats page.

Goalkeepers (3):

Defenders (10):

Midfielders (7):

Forwards (5):

*Le Tissier is not available for the USWNT match due to concussion protocol
*Wubben-Moy was called up on November 26th

Detailed Roster

Table 1: Detailed Roster of Players Called Up for the November-December 2024 International Window

PLAYER                    P.      HEIGHT         D.O.B.      AGE    CAPS   GOALS   ENG. DEBUT
Earps, Mary               GK   5'8"  (173cm)   03/07/1993   31.73     51       -   10/06/2017
Hampton, Hannah           GK   5'9"  (175cm)   11/16/2000   24.04      9       -   02/20/2022
Moorhouse, Anna           GK   6'1"  (185cm)   03/30/1995   29.67      0       -   n/a
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bright, Millie            DF   5'10" (178cm)   08/21/1993   31.28     83       5   09/20/2016
Bronze, Lucy              DF   5'7"  (171cm)   10/28/1991   33.09    126      16   06/25/2013
Carter, Jess              DF   5'5"  (164cm)   10/27/1997   27.09     37       2   11/28/2017
George, Gabby             DF   5'7"  (170cm)   02/02/1997   27.82      2       0   09/04/2018
Greenwood, Alex           DF   5'6"  (167cm)   09/07/1993   31.23     95       7   03/05/2014
Le Tissier, Maya          DF   5'7"  (171cm)   04/18/2002   22.62      6       0   11/15/2022
Morgan, Esme              DF   5'10" (177cm)   10/18/2000   24.12      9       0   10/11/2022
Turner, Millie            DF   5'10" (178cm)   07/07/1996   28.40      1       0   02/27/2024
Williamson, Leah          DF   5'7"  (170cm)   03/29/1997   27.67     50       5   06/08/2018
Wubben-Moy, Lotte         DF   5'10" (178cm)   01/11/1999   25.89     11       0   02/23/2021
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blindkilde Brown, Laura   MF   5'4"  (162cm)   09/09/2003   21.23      0       0   n/a
Clinton, Grace            MF   5'5"  (165cm)   03/31/2003   21.67      4       2   02/23/2024
Kirby, Fran               MF   5'2"  (157cm)   06/29/1993   31.42     74      19   08/03/2014
Mace, Ruby                MF   5'6"  (168cm)   09/05/2003   21.24      0       0   n/a
Park, Jessica             MF   5'3"  (161cm)   10/21/2001   23.11     11       1   11/11/2022
Stanway, Georgia          MF   5'4"  (162cm)   01/03/1999   25.91     73      21   11/08/2018
Walsh, Keira              MF   5'6"  (167cm)   04/08/1997   27.65     78       0   11/28/2017
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beever-Jones, Aggie       FW   5'7"  (171cm)   07/27/2003   21.35      1       0   07/12/2024
Kelly, Chloe              FW   5'6"  (168cm)   01/15/1998   26.87     47       7   11/08/2018
Mead, Beth                FW   5'4"  (163cm)   05/09/1995   29.56     61      33   04/06/2018
Naz, Jessica              FW   5'5"  (165cm)   09/24/2000   24.18      3       0   07/12/2024
Russo, Alessia            FW   5'8"  (173cm)   02/08/1999   25.81     44      20   03/11/2020

Key:

  • P. = Playing Position, according to the press release
  • D.O.B. = Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy format)
  • Age = Calculated age on day of the first friendly (November 30th)
  • Caps = Official senior appearances for the Lionesses
  • Goals = Official senior goals for the Lionesses
  • Eng. Debut = Date of first senior appearance for the Lionesses (mm/dd/yyyy format)

Sources: Primarily EnglandFootball.com profile pages for each player. Missing heights are pulled from the WSL’s official list of players (thefa.com). No authoritative source has been found for Jessica Naz’s height, but 5’5″ (165cm) is the commonly reported number.

Notable Absences

Hyperlinked player names link to their EnglandFootball.com profile, which lists their height, date of birth, and other details, plus a brief bio.

As mentioned in the introduction, England’s depth has been reduced due to several injuries:

  • Lauren Hemp (forward): Hemp missed her club’s last two matches and underwent knee surgery, which was announced the same day as England’s roster was released (Man City news item, 19-Nov-2024). The injury is not an ACL tear. No timeline for her recovery has been disclosed. (BBC)
  • Ella Toone (midfielder): Toone suffered a “calf injury” while training with her club, Manchester United, on Friday, November 15th. (BBC)
  • Lauren James (forward): Before the October window, James “sustained a calf injury” ahead of a Champions League match (chelseafc.com), so this is the second window in a row that she has missed.
  • Niamh Charles (outside-back): In mid-September, During a pre-season club friendly, Charles suffered a dislocated shoulder, which required surgery. (BBC)
  • Lucy Parker (defender): On November 10th, during a WSL match against Manchester United, Parker suffered an ankle injury which is “not a serious injury”. She is expected to be out for a few weeks. (avfc.co.uk) Parker played NCAA Division I soccer for four seasons, splitting her time with LSU (player profile) and later UCLA (player profile).

One player not mentioned in the original press release is center-back Lotte Wubben-Moy, who played her first match for Arsenal in just over a month on Saturday, November 16th, appearing as an 84th minute substitute (Arsenal match page). Wubben-Moy was called into England’s October camp (EnglandFootball.com), but did not feature in either friendly due to concussion protocol (JustArsenal.com). Wubben-Moy played collegiate soccer for three seasons at the University of North Carolina (player profile). On Tuesday, November 26th, Wubben-Moy was called into camp due to Maya Le Tissier suffering a concussion in her last match versus Chelsea (www.manutd.com). Wubben-Moy did not play in Arsenal’s last match, which was a home Champions League match against Juventus on Thursday, November 21st (Arsenal.com).

Forward Rachel Daly, who played several seasons in the NWSL for the Houston Dash, and previously played NCAA soccer at St. Johns (Wikipedia bio), announced her retirement from international soccer, back in April, at the age of 32 (avfc.co.uk). Her last international goal came against Italy in February.

Formation Speculation

England’s match reports include visual formations (EnglandFootball.com). In 2024, the typical formation for the Lionesses is a 4-3-3, though twice it was listed as a 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1.

Most Likely Starters

  • Goalkeeper: Earps or Hampton
  • Right Outside-Back: Lucy Bronze
  • Center-Backs: Williamson plus either Bright or Greenwood
  • Left Outside-Back: Carter
  • Midfielders: Stanway, Walsh, and ???
  • Wingers/Forward(s): Mead, Russo, ???

Who should start between the sticks is one of the more hotly debated topics surrounding the Lionesses (Karen Bardsley BBC column), with 31-year-old Mary Earps in the role of the veteran and 24-year-old Hannah Hampton as the young upstart. In October, Hampton got the start against Germany, conceding two goals during the run of play, plus two converted penalties.

On the back line, Lucy Bronze and captain Leah Williamson are more-or-less locks at their respective positions. For Williamson’s center-back partner, Wiegman has alternated between Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood, who are both in their early thirties. Jess Carter, who typically plays on the right side for Gotham, has been used as the left outside-back in five-straight matches for England, with the Spirit’s Esme Morgan taking her place in the last friendly against South Africa.

In the middle, the absence of Ella Toone means that this year’s typical midfield trio, which also includes Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh, is in need of a replacement attacking midfielder. 31-year-old Fran Kirby, who started against the USWNT in 2022, would be the experienced option, but she has not started a match under Wiegman in 2024. Of the younger options, both Park and Clinton have two starts this year.

A more pressing concern is finding a frontline replacement for Lauren Hemp, who is out due to knee surgery, and which is compounded by the injury absence of Lauren James. Beth Mead and Alessia Russo have started four of the last five matches and will almost certainly start against the USA. Of the three remaining forwards, two are inexperienced: 24-year-old Jessica Naz, who started against South Africa, has three caps, while 21-year-old Aggie Beever-Jones has just a lone cap, via a substitute appearance against the Republic of Ireland in July. The more likely option, Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly, has the experience, but perhaps not the form (The Guardian). Another forward option is Fran Kirby (Wikipedia bio). Alternatively, Wiegman could pull a trick out of her tactician’s hat and go with a more creative line-up.

The Last Time: October 7, 2022

The USWNT and England most recently played each other on Friday, October 7, 2022. That match was a friendly which was also played at Wembley. Sarina Wiegman was beginning her second year as manager of the Lionesses while Vlatko Andonovski was nearing three full years being in charge of the USWNT.

Match Reports: U.S. Soccer, England Football

U.S. Soccer Highlights

England won the match 2:1 on a Georgia Stanway penalty kick given after Hailie Mace, who was a 22nd minute injury substitute for Emily Fox, struck Lucy Bronze in the face with a high boot. England first took the lead in the 10th minute when forward Lauren Hemp finished a partially defended cross from Beth Mead. In the 28th minute, the USWNT equalized off of Sophia Smith after Lindsay Horan forced a turnover while England was attempting to build out of their own box.

The USA had a potential second equalizer off the foot of Trinity Rodman, but a VAR review determined that Sophia Smith was offside during the build-up.

England dominated the match in terms of possession, 69% to 31%, and passing, with 618 attempts to the USA’s 264 (Google’s match stats).

Line-Ups

For the USWNT, just five starters return for 2024 rematch, along with two of the six substitutes. England returns nine starters, with one starter absent due to international retirement (Rachel Daly), while the other is because of injury (Lauren Hemp). In 2022, England used just two substitutes. Both of those players will miss the current camp due to injuries.

Bolded Starters and Italicized Substitutes are on their national team’s roster for the November-December 2024 international window and should be available for the England-USWNT friendly. Crossed-out names are players who are retired from international soccer.

USWNT Line-Up

  • Alyssa Naeher
  • Sofia Huerta (Crystal Dunn)
  • Alana Cook
  • Naomi Girma (Becky Sauerbrunn)
  • Emily Fox (Hailie Mace)
  • Andi Sullivan (Sam Coffey)
  • Rose Lavelle
  • Lindsey Horan
  • Trinity Rodman (Ashley Sanchez)
  • Sophia Smith
  • Megan Rapinoe (Alyssa Thompson)

England Line-Up

  • Mary Earps
  • Lucy Bronze
  • Millie Bright
  • Alex Greenwood
  • Rachel Daly
  • Beth Mead
  • Georgia Stanway
  • Keira Walsh
  • Chloe Kelly (Lauren James)
  • Fran Kirby (Ella Toone)
  • Lauren Hemp

England WNT press release: “Sarina Wiegman has selected her group for the games at Wembley and Bramall Lane in November and December” (19-Nov-2024)