Australia and New Zealand, the two host nations, both experienced their first taste of this World Cup earlier today. They enjoyed 1-0 victories over the Republic of Ireland and Norway respectively in front of roaring, home crowds. Saturday will be the beginning of England’s campaign and so here is a Lionesses predicted lineup for their clash with Haiti.
Lionesses Predicted Lineup vs Haiti
New horizons. Same mission. One family.
World Cup 2023. Let’s do this. pic.twitter.com/RMpAloQ95U
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 20, 2023
Dealing with Prominent Injuries
Women’s’ football in general has been plagued by some really bad injuries in the last year or two. It seems that every country has lost someone to an ACL injury and England are certainly at the fore of this. Arsenal duo Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, both of whom are integral players in this England system, have been sidelined for a number of months.
It was known that these two would be absent from any Lionesses predicted lineup for quite a while, whereas others’ status has been called into question much more recently. Millie Bright, who has ascended to the captaincy in the absence of Williamson, has been suffering with a knock in the last few weeks. Most recently though, the Chelsea defender featured for her country in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Canada, pointing towards her return to competitive action as well.
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Fellow defender Alex Greenwood was another who had injury worries holding her back earlier this month. A heavy tackle from former Manchester City teammate Georgia Stanway left Greenwood in a heap but she also got minutes under her belt against Canada last week. In fact, 21 of the 23 players in the squad featured then, Ellie Roebuck and Beth England being the only two not too.
Giving Youth a Chance
One thing Sarina Wiegman has shown no fear doing in her tenure to date is giving the younger players a chance, as is reflected in our Lionesses predicted lineup. It helps her that England boast so many bright talents, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp to name just a few.
The two Manchester City wingers have been hugely dangerous for both club and country but their presence in the XI surely comes at the expense of James. She is a player like no other and so, along with Alessia Russo, serves as a dynamic option off of the bench in many cases, supplementing the excellence of Rachel Daly. Niamh Charles is another of the younger players who has played regularly under the Dutch coach. Her versatility along that backline comes in handy, particularly with Leah Williamson not in the squad and there not being any nailed-on starter at left-back.
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The Lionesses Predicted Lineup
Mary Earps, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, Ella Toone, Chloe Kelly, Rachel Daly.
