The Women’s World Cup is being held in Australia and New Zealand this Summer, and the Lionesses are going for the treble, Champions of Europe, Finalissima and now aiming for being Champions of the world.
One major concern for The Lionesses is who will be captaining the side at the Summer World Cup. The Lionesses captain, Leah Williamson, got stretchered off against Manchester United back in April. Williamson collapsed to the floor in pain after her studs got stuck in the turf, which created pain around her knee. It was later confirmed that she ruptured her ACL and required surgery. This unfortunately rules Williamson out of the Summer World Cup. Sarina Wiegman now faces a difficult decision on who to appoint captain to for the World Cup.
The current favourite to be the captain at the World Cup is Chelsea skipper, Millie Bright. Bright has 241 caps for Chelsea and 66 for England. She has been playing international football for the senior squad since 2016 and played alongside Williamson at the 2022 Euros.
Although she is favourite to captain England at the World Cup, Bright has been ruled for several more weeks with the knee injury she suffered in March. Bright has been missing in the Chelsea line-up for several weeks and it is worrying times whether she will be able to make her return to the England squad before the World Cup. Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, is unsure when Bright will make her return but she is positive she will be available for the World Cup, "I don't know when Millie will be back exactly. But I think there is a slim chance of her returning over the next couple of weeks, but it is slim. It is slim chance, if at all, on her coming back for the remainder of the season. But she'll make the World Cup, I'm sure of that."
Another captaincy option for the Lionesses this Summer is Manchester City defender, Alex Greenwood. Greenwood has been intrusted with the armband beforehand when Williamson and Bright have been absent from the squad and she led the team out back in February, when England faced Italy in the Arnold Cup. Greenwood is a likely contender to captain the Lionesses this Summer however we are still yet to hear a final decision from Sarina.
One final England Captain contender is Barcelona full-back, Lucy Bronze. Bronze has captained England before back in 2018 during the ‘She Believes Cup’ in the United States, due to Steph Houghton facing an injury. Although she has captained England before, she displays very little enthusiasm about taking back the armband in a few months’ time, “Too much pressure is placed on the England captain, and it can be quite difficult to handle.”
Sarina Wiegman now has a very tough decision to make on who will lead The Lionesses to potential glory, at The Women’s World Cup this Summer. It is looking like she is going to choose Lucy Bronze to take on the role, due to Lucy’s experience as England captain previously. “Lucy has an important role as a leader in our team,” said Wiegman. “Her vision and intelligence enable her to find solutions.”
We now must wait and see on who Wiegman will appoint England captain.
Comments