Advertisement

Mark Sampson to name England Women squad nearly four months before Euros begin

Ellen White leads the celebrations in England's recent win over the USA: AFP/Getty Images
Ellen White leads the celebrations in England's recent win over the USA: AFP/Getty Images

England Women manager Mark Sampson is to name his Euro 2017 squad nearly four months before their bid for glory in the Netherlands begins.

The Lionesses 23-strong party for the tournament will be announced on Monday but England will not kick off their tournament until July 19 when they take on Scotland in Utrecht.

Sampson hinted there would be few surprises in his squad and believes confirming the party in advance will help focus his players ahead of a tournament in which England will be looking to go one better than their runners-up finishes in 1984 and 2009.

“We’ve worked with our player pool for three years now and are clear on the right players we want on and off the pitch if we want to be successful this summer,” Sampson said.

“This gives the squad and staff the chance to be focused solely on the Euros and takes away any of the uncertainty that players might have in the run-up.

“As a coaching staff it also allows us to focus on working with the 23 players as early as possible and develop our game plans.

“At the World Cup we prided ourselves on being one of the most united and together teams and we put a big part of our success down to that, so we’ll be able to build on this even further over the next three months.”

England, who finished third at the 2015 World Cup, will play Italy and Austria in friendlies next month as they continue their preparation for the tournament. The Lionesses finished third in the four-team She Believes Cup earlier in March, beating the USA in New Jersey but suffering hard-fought defeats to France and Germany.