England name star-studded squad for Ireland showdown

England manager Sarina Wiegman has named her 23-player squad for the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

The Lionesses, who won the tournament in 2022, host World Cup semi-finalists Sweden at Wembley on Friday 5 April before travelling to Dublin to take on the Girls in Green at the Aviva Stadium the following Tuesday.

Ireland begin their qualification campaign against France in Metz. Head coach Eileen Gleeson will name her panel on Thursday morning.

The England squad is largely unchanged from the one that cruised past Austria and Italy in Spain last month, with the injured Millie Bright the most notable absentee. Arsenal defender Leah Williamson returns to the fold having been forced to pull out of that friendly double-header.

Wiegman can pick from some of the biggest names in the Women's Super League, as well as the likes of Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway and Barcelona's Keira Walsh.

England’s clash with Ireland will be the first time the sides have met in almost four decades - the English secured a 1-0 win at Dalymount Park in 1987.

"There's no time to waste," said Wiegman. "February’s window showed who we are and where we want to go and we’ll look to continue that momentum from the minute we arrive at St George’s Parknext week.

"We know it’s a challenging group, but it’s really exciting. These are all big games that will test us and that’s the kind of fixtures we want to play in. Every opponent we face is a top nation and weknow we have to perform at our best to achieve our goals."

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City)

Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex