Sarina Wiegman facing ‘hard decision’ over England goalkeeper choice ahead of push to retain Euros crown
SARINA WIEGMAN admits deciding who will be England’s first choice goalkeeper for this year’s Euros is a very “tough decision”.
Khiara Keating, 20, is among four stoppers called up ahead of the Lionesses’ Nations League clashes with Belgium next month.
The Manchester City starlet’s recall announced today, after an eight-month absence, follows her return to top-flight action.
And Brighton midfielder Maisie Symonds has received her first senior international call-up.
In February Symonds and Keating starred England’s Under-23’s friendly wins against Germany and France
Keating, who is yet to make her senior England debut, pulled off some standout saves during City’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea on March 23.
However the WSL star, who was named player-of-the-match, has faced a battle for minutes this term with Japan keeper Ayaka Yamashita also starring for City.
This season Keating, who won the top tier’s Golden Glove last year, has so far started in seven of her club’s 17 WSL games.
England boss Wiegman, 55, said: “She’s a very talented goalkeeper. We saw that again last weekend.
“We’re getting closer to the Euros and so looking at this camp now we’re bringing in four goalkeepers.
“In the tournament you can only bring three and we just want to have those four in our squad next week.”
In addition to Keating, Wiegman has named Mary Earps, 32, and Hannah Hampton, 24, in her 25-strong group, and Orlando Pride’s Anna Moorhouse.
Chelsea’s Hampton and Earps, who plays for French side Paris Saint-Germain are both seen as solid number one contenders.
In February Earps played in goal during England’s 1-1 away draw with Portugal in the Nations League.
Meanwhile Hampton featured in their 1-0 defeat of Spain at Wembley, their first clash with the world champions since their meeting in the World Cup final in Australia in 2023.
Wiegman adds: “It’s a very, very hard decision to make, because now we have four very good goalkeepers.
“You’re talking about Hannah and Mary who are really competing for the number-one position. They’re both world-class.
“They both bring different things, but that makes it really hard.
“We haven’t decided. If we make the decision, we’ll first have the conversations with them. Then we move forward.”
England’s bid to retain the Euros title which they won in 2022 comes six weeks after the start of a new seven-a-side women’s football competition.
The World Seven Series competition, which will commence in Europe, is reportedly set to involve eight teams.
Clubs taking part in the contest, which is also due to be held in a different continent later this year, are yet to be named.
The winning sides in each competition will be awarded £1.9million in prize money.
World Seven Series matches will take place just over a month after England’s double header Nations League duel with Belgium on April 4th and 8th.
On July 5 the Lionesses begin their Euros campaign when they take on France in Zurich, Switzerland.
On if she has concerns about the contest taking place weeks before the Euros, Wiegman added: “I think in the longer term, you see the planning a bit, I don’t see how you can get that (to) fit in the schedule.
“For some players, I think when they play and there’s collaboration with clubs, we have a very good contact with clubs, they would get some, I would say, meaningful minutes to get prepared for the Euros.
“Then in this short term, for some it would not be too bad, but in the longer term I don’t see how we can fit that in the schedule in the calendar.”
Wiegman’s latest squad selection includes Beth Mead and Fran Kirby with the duo set for international duty following their returns from injury.
And Chloe Kelly has also been named among the six forwards in the group which includes Nikita Parris.
The England chief said: “Fran brings lots of experience and good football vision.
“In her position there is a lot of competition but she knows exactly what’s expected at this level.”