England will be without both Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone through injury for the friendlies against the United States and Switzerland, while Manchester City midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown and Leicester’s Ruby Mace have been handed their first call-ups.
The Lionesses face the USA – coached by former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes – at Wembley on November 30, before then taking on Euro 2025 hosts Switzerland in Sheffield at Bramall Lane.
After a 4-3 defeat by Germany in last-month’s warm-up games, Sarina Wiegman’s side got their preparations back on track with a 2-1 win over South Africa in Coventry.
Congratulations on your first senior call-up, @OfficialRubyM! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/tC4bttqyPM
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) November 19, 2024
Manchester City forward Hemp has undergone successful knee surgery and Manchester United midfielder Toone is sidelined by a calf problem.
Chelsea’s Lauren James also continues to manage her own calf issue which forced her to withdraw from the last international squad, while Aston Villa defender Lucy Parker and Niamh Charles are others to miss out through injury.
Manchester United defender Gabby George, though, returns to the England squad for the first time since 2022.
Wiegman feels the 24-player squad will face a stern test in their final two fixtures of the year.
“This is an important international window for us to continue our work to be ready for next summer’s Euros,” said on Wiegman told englandfootball.com.
“Every minute of these two games and every moment spent together at St George’s Park is to make sure we are where we need to be when the tournament begins on July 2.
“As we continue our preparations we want to test ourselves against the very best and that is why we have carefully selected the USA and Switzerland. They are two opponents who will challenge us in different ways this window and that is exactly what we want.”
Wiegman added: “The USA need no introductions and to play them at Wembley Stadium in front of a packed home crowd again is going to be very special. Under Emma they have reached a really top level.
“Switzerland are improving all the time and their impressive victory against France last month shows what they are capable of and how much they continue to grow and develop.
“It will be nice to return to Sheffield, a stadium which gave us one of our most memorable moments together, but our full focus is now on our next chapter as a team.”
