Category: International

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International

2026 the year of new beginnings 

Screenshot

photo taken from @scotlandnationalteam

In the final camp of 2025, there were many new players who got called up from their international side and most countries look to play them in the future including the upcoming World Cup in 2027. 

England: Freya Godfrey

After her stellar start to life at London City Lionesses, she earned her first call up in the most recent camps after being with U23’s in the previous camps. She also captained the U19 on occasions with the 20 year old starting her career at Arsenal before moving this summer. 

She made her debut for the U23 just last October in their 1-0 win against Portugal. Meanwhile in this international break, she remained on the bench for the lionesses and did not make her debut.  

England: Anouk Denton 

The West Ham wingback featured in the previous camp in October to provide cover after Lotte Wubben-Moy dropped out. She even featured in the U23 squad against Germany a few days prior. In the final minutes of their match against Ghana, Denton made her debut for the lionesses and received the legacy number “240”. 

She started at Arsenal before committing to Louisville in the USA for College. After returning to the UK in January 2023, She joined West Ham (who she was on loan with previously) and has been at the club ever since.

Sweden: Beata Olsson 

The forward joined Liverpool this summer and after an impressive start to the season, she received her first call up for Sweden. During this international break, she remained on the bench with Sweden who came fourth in the Nations League after their games versus France. 

The 24 year old joined the WSL from Kristianstads DFF but for her previous clubs, she has been a prolific striker including scoring 27 goals for Florida State Seminoles when at College. 

Wales: Laura Hughes 

The 24 year old recently made the switch from Australia to Wales despite being born in Australia. She plays her club football there,  currently playing for Melbourne City after starting at Canberra. 

In December 2024, she made her Australian senior debut against Chinese Taipei and in November this year, she was called up to Wales after switching her allegiance. She made her Wales debut against South Korea on 28th November. 

Scotland: Maria McAneny

She made her debut against Ukraine on Friday 28th November and even scored in added time despite being on the pitch for 20 minutes. After an injury to Erin Cuthbert, she played a couple of minutes in their second fixture of the break against China. 

The midfielder plays her football in the Scottish Women’s Premier League for Celtic with the 21 year old also going on loan to Heart of Midlothian in 2021. She made her Celtic first team debut in 2021 after joining the club in 2018. 

Scotland: Miri Taylor 

She made her debut against Ukraine coming on in the 57th minute and since she came on, Scotland kept a clean sheet. She made her first start in the following fixture against China playing just over an hour in their 3-2 win. 

She spent time at Arsenal and Chelsea before moving to America for College in 2018. She was drafted in the 2022 NWSL for Angel City before moving to Liverpool in January 2023. She spent 2024 on loan to Aston Villa where she calls home now, after moving the following summer. 

Republic of Ireland: Sophie Whitehouse  

After College, she went to Tottenham Hotspur and Bristol City without making an appearance for either. She made her club debut in 2022 for Lewes where they made the FA Cup quarter-finals in her first season. She then moved to Charlton in 2024 with a one year contract but extended in the summer, quickly becoming first choice keeper as well as getting Women’s Championship Save of the Season. 

She made her international debut for the Republic of Ireland this camp in a behind closed doors friendly win against Hungary. In April 2023, she was part of the squad when Ireland travelled to the USA for two friendlies. 

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International

2025 the year of international retirements 

Screenshot

Photo taken from @swewnt and @lindasembrant on instagram 

Across the year, plenty of international stars have hung up their boots for their national teams and put their hearts into their club team or alternatively retired from football altogether. 

Millie Bright: England

In October, Chelsea defender Millie Bright announced her retirement from international football after deciding to not be selected for the 2025 European Championship. She won 88 caps and captained them to a silver in the 2023 FIFA World Cup as well as representing Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

The defender made her debut in 2016 and also featured in the EURO 2017, 2019 World Cup and 2022 Euros. She scored on six occasions in an England shirt as well as playing all games in the 2022 and 2023 competitions respectively. 

Mary Earps: England 

In May (prior to the Euro 2025 tournament), the PSG Goalkeeper decided to retire from the England shirt to allow the younger players an opportunity to shine. Receiving 53 caps across eight years, Earps also won two FIFA Best Awards and a World Cup golden glove along with her triumph in the 2022 Euros on home soil. 

The goalkeeper made her debut in 2017 and was a figure in the 2022 Euros and 2023 World Cup campaign in Australia where they came second against Spain but had that iconic penalty save. 

Fran Kirby: England 

In June, Kirby announced her retirement after her decision was influenced by being told she was not going to be selected for the summer. She also felt it was the right time to leave, giving the opportunity to the younger generation. 

The experienced Brighton and Hove Albion forward had 77 appearances to her name as well as 19 goals and was included in four major tournaments. She was included in 2015 and 2019 World Cup as well as 2017 and 2022 UEFA European Championships. She made her international debut in 2014 and also represented Team GB in the Tokyo Olympics. 

Magdalena Eriksson: Sweden 

After getting 123 caps, she retired from the international side in November. She made her debut in 2014 but her tournament debut came in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio (where she won the silver medal) and represented Sweden in seven consecutive major tournaments. 

The Bayern Munich defender scored 14 goals for her country and became a two-time Olympic silver medalist (winning again in Tokyo) as well as earning two third place finishes at the World Cup in 2019 and 2023 respectively. 

Jess Fishlock: Wales 

After playing her final game against Australia, Fishlock retired from International football in October after the Euro 2025 tournament. After 19 years, she became the all-time leading appearance maker and goalscorer with 166 caps and 48 goals respectively. 

The Seattle Reign forward recently signed a new one year contract and was the first player to reach 100 caps. She made her senior debut in 2006 and was in the squad when Wales made their major tournament debut in the summer. 

Niamh Fahey: Ireland 

Following a 17 year long career, Fahey retired from International Football in January and in May announced her full retirement from football. The ex-Liverpool defensive player rose through the ranks and made 115 appearances for the girls in green. 

She made her senior debut in 2007 and scored her only goal in 2022 against Georgia. She made her 100th appearance in February 2022 and featured in all of Ireland’s games in the 2023 FIFA World Cup. 

Maren Mjelde: Norway 

In August, Mjelde retired after playing in the European Championship the previous summer making 183 appearances for Norway. The 35 year old made her senior debut in 2007 aged just 17 and after 18 years she decided to end her international career. 

She featured at nine international tournaments and also held the armband for a decade winning bronze in Euro 2009 and a silver at Euro 2013. 

Sherida Spitse: The Netherlands

The Ajax Midfielder announced her international retirement in October and played her final match against Canada. She is the most capped Dutch and European player at 248 appearances, playing across 20 years. 

She represented the Netherlands in eight major tournaments including five Euros and three World Cups, making her debut in August 2006. She won the 2017 Euros and captained her side to the World Cup final in 2019.  

Kayleigh Barton: Wales 

After playing in her first tournament during the summer, the Striker announced her retirement from football in August. She made her international debut for Wales in 2012 and scored 22 goals in the colours as well as making 89 appearances. The Striker played her last league games for Charlton Athletic in Barclays WSL2 before heading to Switzerland for her debut in a tournament. 

Linda Sembrant: Sweden 

Linda Sembrant announced her retirement in November after reaching 160 appearances for her national team, following the bronze medal match in the Nations League. The AIK Stockholm defender made her debut back in 2008 and has three bronze European Championship medals to her name (2011, 2019 and 2023) as well as a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics. 

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International Lionesses

“I make decisions to win”; Sarina Wiegman releases final Lionesses squad of the year

Sarina Wiegman announced a 25 player squad for the final international camp of the year today with a few faces returning to the camp for the first time since the euros. In other news Freya Godfrey earns her maiden lionesses squad, making the step up from the under-23’s for the first time.

Firstly, she spoke on Mary Earps’ autobiography saying: “She’s retired now, and we had incredible times and I always cherished that, and I’ve really enjoyed that… I make decisions to win … we have two incredible people in the goalkeeper group… overtime the competition has been really really hard, we had a very good goal keeper unit and the two goal keepers were competing for the number one spot.”

Following this, she was asked about Ellie Roebuck and how close to returning to the squad the keeper is, to this she said “‘We have a group of goal keepers we keep a close eye on… she is a little bit further way.”

Freya Godfrey earned her first senior lionesses call up this camp, Wiegman spoke highly of her saying “She’s done well, at the beginning of the season she was injured but I think she came back very well… she’s a young player that can bring something different to the squad.”

One key player kept out of the squad was Lauren James, although the forward only came back from her injury last week, she was a name people expected to see within the squad.

To this, Sarina said “She’s moving forward well… I think she just needs a little more time to get to full fitness… I don’t want to take any risks.”

In other news, Lauren Hemp is back in the squad for the first time since the Lionesses Euro winning campaign, Wigwam spoke on her recent form and how much of a key player the forward is within the squad saying “first of all, it’s really nice for her, I think she really enjoyed herself at the weekend, we could all see that she had a good performance and of course she is an important player for us… and we are very happy to have her back.”

Last time out, Michelle Agyemang suffered an ACL injury whilst playing Spain and since then Katie Reid has suffered the same injury, one that’s becoming far too common in Women’s football. Wiegman was asked whether she thinks it’s an issue within the amount of football young players are playing compared to seasons prior, to this she said, “its a very hard question for me to answer because I’m not in that environment, I think everyone who’s in the women’s game and at that level is trying to make it better for the players… I think the gap to international football is a big one, one we need to close… as always, you want to improve academies to get prepared, to get good level games and to get the programming right, but i think everyone in our environment is working on that to improve it

Leah Williamson is missing out on camp through injury, along with Alex Greenwood and Jess Carter meaning England’s defence is likely to have a new, youthful look this window, something that may be a concern to some but Sarina expressed her confidence saying “It always gives an opportunity to other players to step up, players play at a high level at their club so their experience… so i think there’s a lot of experience players have so they’re used to that… it’s absolutely an opportunity to step up and show where the players are more in the squad now.”

She followed this by saying “Lucy is leading, Keira is leading, Alessia has a lot of experience now so she is leading now also up front, Lauren Hemp, she’s not necessarily an old player but she has a lot of experiences”

Finally, England’s world cup qualifying draw was revealed last week, with the lionesses drawing Iceland, Spain and Ukraine, upon being asked what she thought of the draw, Wiegman said “i think it’s an exciting draw again, of course we are always stuck with Spain, but we haven’t played Ukraine and Iceland so im excited about that, the different opponents.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Sophie Baggaley, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse

Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Niamh Charles, Anouk Denton, Grace Fisk, Taylor Hinds, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy

Midfielders: Laura Blinkilde-Brown, Grace Clinton, Missy Bo Kearns, Lucia Kendall, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh
Forwards: Aggie Beever-Jones, Freya Godfrey, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Jess Park, Alessia Russo

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International

Women’s World Cup European Qualification – Everything you need to know

Today we found out the groups for the Women’s World Cup European qualification, which will take place across the March, April, and June international windows for 2026. So what happened?

League A’s first group features Sweden, Italy, Denmark, and Serbia. Sweden’s women are a force to be reckoned with. With speedy strikers and a solid defence, they are a strong side to come up against. They hold the record for the most World Cup bronze medals (four times), but will definitely be pushing for more in qualification for 2027. Italy had a record-breaking Euros, making it to the semi-finals in 2025, which is the furthest they’ve made it in a major competition since 1997. Will they carry on their momentum into World Cup qualification? Denmark had a disappointing Euros in 2025 compared to their previous major competitions; they finished bottom of their group and didn’t get any points on the board. But could this be the shock they need to succeed in 2027? This is Serbia’s debut appearance in League A of the Nations League (used for qualification); they’ve got something to prove, but will it be a struggle in a group of leading sides?

Group A2 is Constancy Sports’ group of death, featuring France, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Republic of Ireland. France ranks highly in the world and poses a challenge for all the top teams they face. Since the late 1990s, France has consistently performed well, and they always put up a strong defence for whoever they play. The Netherlands are a strong team with both young talent and veteran players. They have lots of experience at the top level, winning the 2017 Euros and reaching the 2019 Women’s World Cup final. Poland women played in their first-ever major competition this year with the 2025 Women’s Euros. They were the underdogs of their group, losing to Sweden and Germany, but were able to beat Denmark in a tight match. The Republic of Ireland featured in their first-ever major tournament at the previous World Cup (2023), appearing in the group of death. They struggled but left their mark on the competition, scoring on Olympic gold medalists Canada and getting their first World Cup points in a 0-0 draw with Nigeria.

Group A3 had the one thing most Lionesses fans were dreading as England was paired with Spain in their group. Along with these two teams, they were pulled Iceland and Ukraine. Spain is a strong team, being the reigning World Cup champions (2023) and runners-up for the most recent Euros (2025); they are a force to reckon with. England are back-to-back Euros winners under magical manager Sarina Wiegman, but the one trophy both the nation and manager haven’t won is the World Cup. Will they be able to do it this time around? Iceland competed in the Euros but finished bottom of the group. They could come back stronger and prove they can compete in the top major competitions. This will be Ukraine’s debut campaign in the Nations League, but will they be able to make an issue for the other teams in their group? Ultimately, with two recent European finalists and two highly motivated opponents fighting for a single automatic spot, Group A3 is shaping up to be an intensely dramatic qualifying campaign.

Finally, we’ve got Group A4, comprising Germany, Norway, Austria, and Slovenia. Germany are the original winners. Winning the Euros 8 times and the World Cup twice, they’ve got lots of silverware in their cabinet and are hungry for more. They’ll be the team people place their bets on to win this group, but will they live up to the expectations? Norway are former European, World, and Olympic champions, and thus have one of the most successful histories, but in recent years have struggled. In recent major competitions, they have suffered large defeats and been knocked out early, but could this be their comeback campaign? Austria are a successful team in Europe but struggle to transfer this over to the world stage. They’ve had success in the 2017 Euros, making it to the semi-finals of their first-ever major tournament, along with the 2022 competition, where they made the quarter-finals. But while they can compete in the Euros, they haven’t qualified for a World Cup yet, so could this be their year to show their talent on the world stage? Slovenia was founded in 1992, so they are playing catch-up with the rest of the teams. Their best result was making it to the play-offs for the 2009 European Championship. Could they stand in the way of the big teams in their group?

League B stands as:

B1:

  • Wales
  • Czechia
  • Albania
  • Montenegro

B2:

  • Switzerland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Turkey
  • Malta

B3:

  • Portugal
  • Finland
  • Slovakia
  • Latvia

B4:

  • Belgium
  • Scotland
  • Israel
  • Luxembourg

League C stands as:

C1:

  • Bosnia
  • Estonia
  • Lithuania
  • Lichtenstein

C2:

  • Croatia
  • Kosovo
  • Bulgaria
  • Gibraltar

C3:

  • Hungary
  • Azerbaijan
  • North macedonia
  • Andora

C4:

  • Greece
  • Faroe Islands
  • Georgia

C5:

  • Romania
  • Cyprus
  • Moldova

C6:

  • Belarus
  • Kazakhstan
  • Armenia
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International

Jess Fishlock says farewell as Wales Women take on Australia

Wales took on Australia in the first fixture of their set of friendlies at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Wales – Starting XI

Goalkeeper:

Safia Middleton-Patel

Defenders:

Gemma Evans, Gwen Zimmerman, Hayley Ladd

Midfielders:

Ceri Holland, Angharad James, Sophie Ingle, Ffion Morgan

Forwards:

Jess Fishlock (C), Mared Griffiths, Hannah Cain

Substitutes:

Olivia Clark, Poppy Soper, Charlie Estcourt, Teagan Scarlett, Mia Ross, Anna Filbey, Scarlett Hill, Alice Griffiths, Carrie Jones, Elise Hughes, Tianna Teisar, Mary McAteer

Australia – Starting XI

Goalkeeper:

Teagan Micah

Defenders:

Courtney Nevin, Winonah Heatley, Clare Hunt, Kaitlyn Torpey

Midfielders:

Clare Wheeler, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry

Forwards:

Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso (C), Sam Kerr

Substitutes:

Mackenzie Arnold, Morgan Aquino, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Carpenter, Charlotte Grant, Cortnee Vine, Amy Sayer, Holly McNamara, Remy Siemsen, Jamila Rankin, Michelle Heyman

Match action:

This was a game of milestones as Sophie Ingle made her first start for Wales after returning from her ACL injury as well as Sam Kerr appearing for the Matildas for the first time since 2023.

Jess Fishlock captained Wales as she started in her last ever game of international football.

Young player Gwen Zimmerman, who plays her football in America, simultaneously received her first senior callup and start for Wales.

Mared Griffiths also got her first start for Wales and ended with a goal to finish out the afternoon.

A shot just 4 minutes in deflected off of the crossbar as Caitlin Foord had driven the ball quickly up the left side of the pitch towards the centre of goal. This effort reflected her workrate that would continue throughout the game.

10 minutes in, a round of applause sounded around the stadium as the fans commemorated Jess Fishlock’s last game in a Wales shirt.

Jess Fishlock captaining Wales. Photo: Charlie Burrell for Constancy Sport

As the game hit the 14th minute mark, Wales had a few chances that were quickly blocked off by Australia’s defence.

They had struggled to get the ball into the final third, often being disrupted by Australia’s midfield.

However, some notable runs by Jess Fishlock, Ceri holland and Mared Griffiths opened up the defence with Hannah Cain hoping to poach a goal with her high press.

In the 24th minute, the stadium held it’s breath as Jess Fishlock made it within a stone’s throw of goal, however the referee blew her whistle and a corner was awarded.

At the end of the 27th minute, Courtney Nevin scored for Australia as a result of a free kick given away just outside the penalty area.

This didn’t seem to knock Wales’ spirit as there were many moments of magic from the team, including breakthroughs on goal from Jess Fishlock and Hannah Cain.

In the first half, Australia remained with the majority of possession despite efforts from the whole team to regain the ball.

One of Australia’s strengths is their individual speed but also their speed on the ball as soon as they regain possession, making it tough for the opposition.

As the first half came to a close Ffion Morgan made a break for goal when a ball was let loose by the Australians, however the goalscorer Courtney Nevin quickly dispossessed her.

The first half of football ended 1-0 to Australia.

Ten minutes into the second half Fishlock was in on goal but lost the ball in the box. The ball then fell to Mared Griffiths who had her back to goal, took a turn, and launched the ball straight over Teagan Micah and into the left side of the net.

The first substitutions came in the 65th minute as a triple change: Kaitlyn Torpey, Sam kerr and Hayley Raso off for Ellie Carpenter, Holly McNamara and Amy Sayer.

Shortly after, Wales followed suit with a substitution, taking Hannah Cain off for Elise Hughes

After these substitutions, Australia started to find their feet again, creating many close chances in the final third.

Jess fishlock drove up the pitch towards goal but was cut off. The ball quickly made it’s way up the opposite end of the pitch as Australia attempted to counter, but it was met by a double save from Safia Middleton-Patel.

Safia Middleton-Patel made her first start in goal since the Euros where Rhian Wilkinson had her step up between the sticks in one of the most high profile matches of the tournament for Wales. In this match against Australia she has proven again why she has a place in this Wales team.

Another notable player is Ceri Holland who was absolutely everywhere in this game, slotting into defence and making crucial clearances when needed, as well as helping the attack break Australia’s defence.

Caitlin Foord scored Australia’s second goal of this Saturday match-up in the 85th minute. The ball was sent in by Kyra Cooney-Cross as Foord was left unmarked in the middle of the box.

Caitlin Foord celebrating her goal. Photo: Charlie Burrell for Constancy Sport

7 minutes of added time were given at the end of the first half, prompting substitutions from both teams.

This included Wales legend Jess Fishlock, who left the field for the last time in a red shirt, after becoming the top caps holder and goalscorer for her country.

The final whistle blew as the match ended 2-1, seeing Australia narrowly take the victory over Wales.

After the match, Fishlock spoke to the Red Wall with a microphone in hand, thanking the fans for their continued support throughout her career.