Can England win this summer's World Cup despite a slew of injuries?
Back in October, England beat the United States women’s national team 2-1 at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, handing the Americans their first loss since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. On paper, this was considered to be a friendly. But deep down, players and coaches on both sides knew it meant more than that.
The match was a showdown between the two best squads in the sport, pitting the reigning World Cup champions against the reigning European champions. In victory, England proved to not just be the rightful challenger to the U.S. at the 2023 World Cup, but arguably more of a favorite.
"I wouldn’t mind facing them in the final again," USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the game.
Since then, the United States and England have been on a collision course to do exactly that at this summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which begins July 20.
That is, until both sides were devastated by injuries.
Specifically England, who will be without three starters this summer. The most recent blow comes from news last week that star forward Fran Kirby needs knee surgery and will miss the World Cup. Kirby announced her update on Twitter.
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"Unfortunately after a few months of rehab the decision has been made that I will require surgery on my knee," Kirby said. "I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee.
"I’m absolutely gutted to announce that this means my season is over and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer. I’m going to be doing everything possible to be ready for the start of next season and want to wish my teammates at Chelsea the best of luck for the rest of the season and my Lioness teammates the best of luck for the summer."
Kirby, 29, hurt her knee during Chelsea’s 7-0 win over West Ham on Feb. 9 and has missed all five national team matches so far this year. Her injury is significant, as Kirby has been a hugely important piece for her club and country. She has 17 goals in 65 appearances for England and started all matches in the team’s run to the 2022 European Championship.
The problem for England now is that its IR list keeps growing. Captain Leah Williamson ruptured her ACL playing for Arsenal on April 20 and Beth Mead, who was a 2022 Ballon d’Or finalist, hasn’t fully recovered from her ACL injury in December. England coach Sarina Wiegman said in March that it would take a "miracle" for Mead to be available for the World Cup.
Other players will be called on to step up, but does losing so many key playmakers derail England's chances of making a deep run? Four years ago, the Lionesses made it to the World Cup semifinal, but lost 2-1 to the USWNT. They then proceeded to lose the third-place match to Sweden.
England’s current injury situation is somewhat similar to what the U.S. has been going through. Mallory Swanson tore her patellar tendon during a friendly against Ireland last month, Catarina Macario and Christen Press haven’t returned from their respective ACL tears last year, and Sam Mewis was declared out after undergoing another knee surgery.
The biggest gut-punch was losing Swanson, who was expected to cement her place as one of the best players in the world this summer. While there’s no way to fully replace her, Swanson happens to play the deepest position on the USWNT. Andonovski has almost too many options at forward, from Alex Morgan to Sophia Smith, Megan Rapinoe, Trinity Rodman, Lynn Williams and Alyssa Thompson. While the Americans would have loved to have Swanson – Andonovski was building his game plan partly around her – the injury doesn’t completely thwart the USWNT’s chances at winning its third World Cup in a row.
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England’s hopes of making history by winning its first-ever World Cup may not be lost, either. Just like Andonovski and his staff have been going to NWSL games and scouting players before naming a final roster, Wiegman surely has a good idea of who might be able to fill the void created by injuries to Kirby, Williamson and Mead.
Everyone remembers forward Chloe Kelly, who scored the historic, game-winning goal to beat Germany in the 2022 Euro final. Striker Alessia Russo, who missed the exhibition game against the USWNT last fall with an injury, is back and scored for the Lionesses in a recent match against South Korea. Rachel Daly, who played left back during the Euros, is even better playing the No. 9 and recently scored a hat trick for Aston Villa. Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze and Ella Toone are also difference-makers who are expected to play big at the World Cup.
England may have a different squad than originally planned and will have to rebound from those losses. But that doesn’t mean the group Wiegman ultimately puts together won’t be able to challenge the USWNT – or any other contender – for a World Cup title.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.