Former England captain Steph Houghton has a slim probability of constructing the ladies’s World Cup squad however the door is “never closed” on a possible return, coach Sarina Wiegman mentioned on Monday.
Houghton had mentioned it had been mentally robust to cope with her exclusion from the nationwide staff however added she would preserve “knocking the door” for the World Cup which might be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20.
The 34-year-old centre-back has 121 worldwide caps however final performed for England in 2021, as she handled an Achilles damage and underwent surgical procedure in February 2022.
“She’s in a hard position. The chances are not that high,” Wiegman mentioned forward of Tuesday’s pleasant match towards Australia.
“Steph is a very good, experienced player who I have lots of respect for. I have respect for what she has done for her country, but I have players in that position that I don’t want to take out because I think they have performed really well.
“But I will never close the door because when you are in international football you want everyone to be available.”
The Lionesses beat Brazil in a penalty shootout within the inaugural Women’s Finalissima final week and Wiegman mentioned they’d not be making many modifications towards Australia, which is ranked tenth on the earth.
However, she is cautious of prolific Chelsea ahead Sam Kerr who was on the substitutes bench in its 1-0 loss to Scotland.
“I think they rested her for tomorrow,” Wiegman mentioned. “Australia has had some very good results and I don’t think the game against Scotland represents what it has done.
“They’re very physical, they’ve very direct and of course, they have Kerr up front.”
Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to the 2017 European Championship earlier than serving to England declare its first main title on the Euros final yr, mentioned she doesn’t really feel any stress in her second stint as a World Cup supervisor.
“I don’t feel more pressure, I am coaching a different country now. We want to be the best we can be. We work every day to improve and that is what we will be focussing on,” she mentioned.
