England Women head coach Mark Sampson has named his 23-player squad for the Cyprus Cup bringing in Chelsea’s Claire Rafferty as the only change to the squad that faced USA on 14 February. Source: The FA via Getty Images
England will travel to Cyprus for the annual tournament on 26 February, and they kick-off their campaign against Finland (4 March) in Larnaca.
The Lionesses reached the final of last year’s tournament, but lost 2-0 to France.
Mark Sampson said: “The Cyprus Cup gives us a unique opportunity to simulate tournament football which is key to our World Cup preparation.
“As our domestic season has not yet started it will be a good opportunity for the players to develop their physical condition and gain their match sharpness.
“We will potentially face a variety of opponents from different continents at this tournament, which will be excellent preparation for the type of challenges we face at the World Cup this summer. By the end of the Cyprus Cup we will only have two months until we name our final World Cup squad, so this is a big opportunity for the players to stake a claim for a spot.”
England will face France (9 June), Mexico (13 June) and Colombia (17 June) in Group F at the World Cup in Canada.
England’s Cyprus Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), Carly Telford (Notts County)
Defenders: Laura Bassett (Notts County), Gemma Bonner (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Notts County), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Claire Rafferty (Chelsea), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Casey Stoney (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Karen Carney (Birmingham City), Katie Chapman (Chelsea), Jade Moore (Birmingham City), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jo Potter (Birmingham City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Liverpool)
Forwards: Eni Aluko (Chelsea), Jess Clarke (Notts County), Fran Kirby (Reading), Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal), Jodie Taylor (Portland Thorns)
