Women's World Cup 2023: Meet England's Lionesses

The wait is over .... the Lionesses are ready to start their World Cup campaign against Haiti on Saturday.

The squad looks slightly different to the one that lifted the Euro 2022 trophy last year.

Players such as Jill Scott and Ellen White have retired, while a number of England stars including Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and captain Leah Williamson will miss the World Cup due to injuries.

So who's in the England squad for this huge tournament?

Take a look at the players hoping to become world champions.

Goalkeepers

Mary Earps

Mary Earps is England's number one goalkeeper and has had a fantastic year both at club and international level.

She started every game last summer as England won Euro 2022, making a number of key saves throughout the tournament.

Earlier this year, she was named goalkeeper of the year at the Best Fifa Awards and last season she kept a WSL record of 14 clean sheets for Manchester United to win the Golden Glove award.

Hannah Hampton

Hannah was called into the senior squad for the first time in March 2020, but it wasn't until February 2022 that she finally made her debut for England in the Arnold Clark Cup.

Hannah made a huge impression in the tournament, keeping a clean sheet and winning player of the match against Spain.

Her hard work has been rewarded as earlier this month she signed for Women's Super League champions Chelsea following the end of her contract with Aston Villa.

Ellie Roebuck

Ellie is Manchester City's number one goalkeeper and England's second highest capped stopper at this summer's tournament, with 11 caps.

She played for England at youth level, helping her country finish third at the U17 Euros in 2014 and get to the quarter-finals of the U17 World Cup later that year.

She was among the goalkeepers selected to play at Euro 2022 and was expected to play an important role, however Ellie picked up an injury and wasn't able to start.

Defenders

Millie Bright (captain)

Millie Bright will captain England at the World Cup in the absence of Leah Williamson, who will miss the tournament due to injury.

One of the most experienced members of Sarina Wiegman's squad, she's a versatile defender who can also be a threat at the other end of the pitch, including in the box at set-pieces.

Millie has also achieved great success at Chelsea, where she has played her club football since 2015 - including winning the WSL title for a fourth time this season, the Women's FA Cup on three occasions and reaching the Champions League final two years ago.

Lucy Bronze

Lucy Bronze is England's most capped Lioness in the 2023 squad, with 105 senior caps to her name.

Arguably one of the best right-backs in the world, the 31-year-old Barcelona player made her senior England debut a decade ago, in June 2013.

She has won a heap of individual honours over her career, including the Fifa Best Player of the Year in 2020, Uefa Player of the Year in 2019 as well as Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2019.

Jess Carter

Experienced Chelsea defender Jess has played for England at U19, U20 and U23 level before making her way up to the senior team, making her England debut in 2017.

However she had to wait another four years to make another appearance, when England manager Sarina Wiegman named Jess in her first squad soon after she was appointed as head coach.

A versatile player, she has appeared as a centre-back as a full-back on both sides for Chelsea and England.

Niamh Charles

Niamh began her career as an attacking midfielder but since moving to Chelsea plays at full-back.

She was first called up to the Lioness training squad in 2020, the same year she began her career at the WSL Champions.

When Niamh was younger she played for the England U17 team, and competed in both the U17s Euro and World Cup tournaments.

Alex Greenwood

Alex is one of England's most experienced players, winning her first senior cap nine years ago at the 2014 Cypress Cup.

She's an expert at set-pieces, and has spent the majority of her club career at Manchester City at left-back.

This will be Alex's third World Cup - she was the youngest member of the England team at the 2015 World Cup and also made the squad at the 2019 tournament in France.

Esme Morgan

Esme has spent her entire career at childhood club Manchester City, where she first started playing in their academy before rising through the ranks.

She can play in different positions - in the centre, at left or right-back and even as a defensive midfielder.

Esme was called up for the England squad training camp in 2020 and last year she was picked by Sarina Wiegman for games against the USA and Czech Republic.

Lotte Wubben-Moy

Like Esme, Lotte also plays for her childhood club - Arsenal, where she made her first team debut back in 2015.

She's also spent two years playing and studying in the United States, where her room-mate was none other than England team-mate Alessia Russo.

Lotte was named in the Euro 2022 squad but didn't end up starting for England, however she used the tournament to campaign for girls to get the opportunity to play football at school.

Midfielders

Laura Coombs

Laura plays her club football at Manchester City, where she joined in 2019 and has more recently played in an attacking midfield role.

She's had a successful season with the north-west club with four goals and five assists in 22 WSL games.

She won her first senior cap in 2015, and received a Lioness recall from Sarina Wiegman earlier this year for the Arnold Clark Cup.

Jordan Nobbs

Jordan has been a part of the Lioness squad since 2013, and has played in several tournaments including two World Cups and two European Championships.

She also enjoyed a successful career at youth level, and was part of the team that won the U19 Euros in 2009.

Jordan took Arsenal to FA Cup WSL victory in 2019 as captain of the team, and now plays for Aston Villa.

Georgia Stanway

Georgia might only be 24 years of age but she is widely considered to be one of the best attacking midfielders of her generation.

She spent seven seasons at Manchester City, becoming the club's all-time top scorer in January 2022, before moving to German giants Bayern Munich last summer.

You might also remember Georgia Stanway from her performance at Euro 2022, where she scored against Spain in the quarter-finals.

Ella Toone

Ella is a regular and popular member of the squad and also a regular goalscorer for England.

Ella appeared as a substitute in every match at Euro 2022 and scored England's first goal in their victory over Germany in the final at Wembley stadium last summer too.

She plays for Manchester United and is known for being one of their most creative players and important players.

Keira Walsh

Keira is considered one of the world's best defensive midfielders and is a key member of the England and Barcelona squads.

In the Euro 2022 final against Germany last year, she set up Ella Toone's opening goal, and has shone through for the Lionesses over the years.

Keira's brilliant display led her to also be included in the team of the tournament at last year's European Championships.

Katie Zelem

Katie has played for the U15 and U23 England team, and impressed former England manager Phil Neville after captaining Manchester United in 2019-20.

She briefly played in Italy with Juventus, and then returned to Manchester United for the following season, where she still plays now.

She's a set-piece specialist and provided eight assists in 21 league games this season.

Forwards

Rachel Daly

If you're wondering why Rachel's been included on the list as a forward - here's the reason.

She's spent the majority of her international career as a defender, started all six of England's games at Euro 2022 as a left-back.

However, she's just finished an incredible season as a striker for Aston Villa and was named WSL's player of the year and Golden Boot winner after scoring 22 goals in 22 games - the true definition of a versatile player.

Bethany England

After seven years at Chelsea, Beth moved to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2022, where her transfer fee was reported to be £250,000 - breaking the domestic record for a British player in the women's game.

She's made a real impression since moving to the north London side, scoring 12 goals in 12 WSL games and finishing the season as England's second highest scorer in the league.

Strong in the air and in the six-yard box, Beth has also been a solid performer for England.

Lauren Hemp

Lauren has packed so much into her career so far, it's hard to believe she's only 22-years-old.

Her fast pace and skills makes her one of the Lionesses most exciting and dangerous young players - her corner in the Euro 2022 final resulted in England's extra-time winner.

She's also been voted the Professional Footballers' Association's young player of the year four times over the past five years.

Lauren James

Footballing talent runs widely in Lauren's family - Lauren's older brother Reece also plays for Chelsea and England.

Lauren is widely tipped to be one of the young England players to make their mark on the international stage as she looks forward to her first major international tournament at this World Cup.

Since making her England debut late last year, she's shown her natural ability of being able to glide past opponents, along with her amazing footwork - making her one of the most exciting young prospects in the Lionesses squad.

Chloe Kelly

Who can forget Chloe Kelly's legendary extra-time winner and goal celebrations at the final of Euro 2022, which sealed the Lionesses first-ever European title and her place in English football history.

The Manchester City striker has proven herself to be one of England's most talented players, carrying on her great form this season with five goals and nine assists in 22 appearances.

With five older brothers, Kelly grew up surrounded by football and began playing at a young age, saying she was rarely without a ball at her feet.

Katie Robinson

At just 20 years old, Brighton's Katie Robinson is the youngest Lioness in the World Cup squad.

The speedy striker received her first call-up to the England senior squad in November last year, after impressive performances with the U23 team in their autumn internationals.

She started her football journey playing for a boys' grassroots team in her hometown of Newquay in Cornwall, and will now have her major tournament debut for England in Australia and New Zealand this summer.

Alessia Russo

Alessia made a name for herself at last year's Euro 2022 with her stand-out performances and goal scoring abilities.

She also holds the record for the the fastest hat-trick in Lionesses' history - scoring three goals in 11 minutes in England's record-breaking 20-0 win against Latvia in 2021.

Alessia recently joined Arsenal on a free transfer following her departure from Manchester United this summer.