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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Jonathan Gorrie

Fran Kirby and Chloe Kelly return to Lionesses squad as England prepare for USA and Czech Republic

Sarina Wiegman has named a 24-player squad for England’s upcoming friendlies with the USA and Czech Republic

(Picture: The FA via Getty Images)

Sarina Wiegman has named a 24-player England squad for their upcoming friendlies with the United States and Czech Republic next month.

Fran Kirby and Chloe Kelly return for the Lionesses after missing last month’s World Cup qualifiers, while West Ham’s Lucy Parker and Jessica Park - currently on loan at Everton from Manchester City - are handed first senior call-ups.

England host the world champions USA at Wembley on Friday October 7 before traveling down to Brighton to play the Czechs at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday October 11.

Weigman said: “Our focus is now firmly on the FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer, all of our time together is vitally important and this is an opportunity for those selected to apply themselves to the best of their ability on and off the pitch.

“The challenge of facing the world champions is one we look forward to and it is another tough fixture to measure our progress as we look to continue to make the next step forward.

“We are so excited to be able to go back to Wembley after our incredible experience in July. “It will be a special evening and a great celebration for our fans, but we also know it will be a challenging game against very strong opposition.

“We are working hard towards next summer and this will help us understand where we are in our preparation.

“It would also be wrong to underestimate how good the Czech team is with our next match. We saw them draw 0-0 away to the US earlier this year and they also drew twice with the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying.

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers:

Earps, Maciver, Roebuck

Defenders:

Bright, Bronze, Carter, Daily, Greenwood, Morgan, Parker, Stokes, Williamson

Midfielders:

Kirby, Stanway, Toone, Walsh, Zelem

Forwards:

Hemp, Kelly, James, Mead, Park, Russo, Salmon

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