Sarina Wiegman has recalled Ella Toone, Aggie Beever-Jones and Freya Godfrey for England’s next two Women's World Cup qualifiers, bringing the 31-year-old back into a 25-player squad that tops its group with four wins from four. England will face Spain in Mallorca on 5 June and then host Ukraine at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium four days later.
The selections come with England in control of their qualifying group, but not yet safe. Only the group winners avoid the playoffs, which gives the next two matches immediate weight. England already beat Spain at Wembley in April, and another result this month would move Wiegman’s side closer to the 2027 Women's World Cup without the detour of a playoff campaign.
Toone’s return is the headline. Wiegman said it was “very important” and added, “It’s nice she’s back.” She also said it was too soon to know whether Toone can play “90 minutes at the highest level,” a reminder that the midfielder is returning to the squad before anyone can say she is fully ready to carry a full workload.
Wiegman’s comments on Beth Mead added another layer to the squad announcement. Mead is in the 25-player group and is understood to be close to agreeing a move to Manchester City after deciding to leave Arsenal when her contract ends this summer, bringing down the curtain on nine years at the club. She played in 21 of Arsenal’s 22 league fixtures this term, but started only 12, and Wiegman said the forward is still ambitious and still has the highest level in her game.
The England coach also pointed to the way Arsenal manage minutes in a crowded schedule, saying that when players are used in a strong squad and games are split up, it can affect how much football they get. She said Mead wants a good move and wants to compete for the World Cup and make next year’s squad, though she stressed that the decision has to be the right one.
That balance between form, fitness and future planning sits at the heart of England’s final qualifying stretch. Wiegman said there are “a couple of players that haven’t played that many minutes,” but added that she still believes they are the best players and can improve England’s chance of winning when selected. With 25 players available, she said there are enough options to manage the workload across the two fixtures.
For Toone, the call is a return to the national setup at a moment when England need familiar quality and fresh legs at once. For Mead, it is a squad place during a summer of change. And for Wiegman, the next two matches are less about selection theory than about collecting the points that keep England on the direct road to the World Cup.
