Sarina Wiegman has left Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly out of the England squad for October’s World Cup playoff against Greece, and in doing so sent a message that reaches far beyond the two players omitted. Neither was included when the squad was named on Tuesday, and Wiegman’s explanation made it plain that reputations and past achievements counted for nothing.
“The main reason is that I think the levels weren’t what I expect from them on the pitch,” she said. Asked to clarify whether concerns about Kelly’s fitness had played any part, given reports that the winger has been struggling with an injury, Wiegman said she had spoken to the player and that, as she saw it, the decision came down purely to what she had witnessed on the pitch. She kept it, in her words, to football.
The timing gives that message its urgency. Just under nine months remain until the World Cup begins, and England must secure qualification across two rounds of playoffs crammed into the next 10 weeks, starting with October’s tie against Greece. Wiegman’s side go into that campaign attempting to go one better than their second-place finish at the 2023 World Cup.
For England supporters, the absence of Toone and Kelly will take some getting used to. Both were on the scoresheet in the 2022 European Championship final. Toone dragged England level in the quarter-final against Spain at those Euros, lobbed Germany’s goalkeeper in the final at Wembley and fired into the top corner in the 2023 World Cup semi-final. Kelly repeatedly held her nerve from the penalty spot in the dramatic summers of 2023 and 2025, and it was her cross that created England’s goal in Basel. Their contributions have made them close to immortal figures in English women’s football history.
Wiegman has, however, shown repeatedly that she will not be sentimental about squad selection, whatever a player’s pedigree or service. She has omitted the former England captain Steph Houghton, chosen Hannah Hampton as her No 1 ahead of Mary Earps for Euro 2025, and the international careers of reliable performers such as Rachel Daly and Fran Kirby ended earlier than expected. The approach has served her: three finals in a row with England, two of them won.
There are extenuating circumstances behind the dip in form of both players. Toone has been part of a Manchester United side in which very few players excelled across the opening two matches, as the group adjusted to the ideas of new manager Eva Olid. Kelly, meanwhile, appears to be managing a hamstring problem. Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers confirmed on Tuesday that Kelly is unavailable for Wednesday’s Women’s Champions League away game against Paris FC. “She’s had some issues with her hamstring,” Slegers said. “There’s nothing we could see from an injury perspective [from scans] but [Kelly is] managing something.”
Their absence opens doors for others. Wiegman has handed opportunities to the London City Lionesses winger Freya Godfrey and the Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter, who was mightily impressive in Chelsea’s win over Arsenal on Sunday.
Even so, Wiegman was careful to stress that the door has not been shut on either player. “I still believe in them, they’re not in the squad but I believe in them,” she said. “We expect a bit more and we know they can bring more. That was the message. There is also competition going on. It’s about talent, it’s about playing minutes – I hope they can step up and show what they can do. I’m convinced they can do better, I think they are convinced about that too. I think they took the feedback in a good and in a positive way but it’s hard to take at the same time of course, it’s not a nice message.” She added: “I hope they come back even better than they were before.”
That is the opportunity now facing Toone, 27, and Kelly, 28. Rediscover their club form, and Brazil awaits. If they do click again for their clubs and then deliver next summer, the decision to leave them out will look like a masterstroke of management rather than a gamble. Rewarding Godfrey and Potter for their domestic form deserves credit in its own right. And in the meantime, every England player – however strong their CV, however central they were to the triumph of 2025 – is on notice. The fight for World Cup places has begun, and time is short.