England manager Sarina Wiegman believes Beth Mead has “shown enough” to earn her recall to the squad for the Lionesses’ final Nations League fixtures.
It is a welcome return to the international fold for the 28-year-old Arsenal forward, who resumed club action last month after suffering an ACL injury last November and has now earned an England call-up for the first time in over a year.
Tottenham midfielder Grace Clinton and Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating retain their places in the Lionesses’ 23-player squad, having received their first senior call-ups in October.
England play their final two games of the year, starting with the Netherlands at Wembley on December 1 before facing Scotland at Hampden Park four days later and Wiegman is delighted to have Mead’s experience for those games.
“It’s really nice, she’s played minutes, she’s in a good place and still building too, but that was a very nice phone call, she was very happy,” Wiegman told a press conference.
“We’ve had conversations all the time, we had conversations before September camp and during and in October too because she was already fully training and getting some minutes but I just wanted to see a little more and that’s what we’ve seen now.
“Her health is really good so she can just go and she’s showed of course in games that she’s in a good place and we want her to keep growing and improving.
“She’s shown enough to me and for my technical staff to bring her in.
“She is a character that brings positive energy off the pitch and on the pitch and it’s good to have her back. Her experience, the way she plays, she’s different than other players on the wing, she brings different things so that’s good we have different opportunities again. Off pitch gives us some extra energy.”
England are currently third in Group A1 of the Nations League following a disappointing 3-2 loss to Belgium last month, their second defeat in four group matches.
Plenty is at stake in the competition as the winners of League A will reach the finals, which act as Europe’s 2024 Olympic qualifiers, meaning that hopes of a qualification spot in Paris are in danger for Team GB.
With two games remaining to try and turn things around, Wiegman insists England’s preparations will remain the same and has called on her side to be “more ruthless” in the final third.
“I think the Belgium game, the difference of us to them was so big,” she said.
“That last result was not a reflection of how we were in camp. Yes we’re in a situation where we absolutely need wins, we know that, we’re aware of that.
“When we go into a camp we want to win games. We haven’t done that lately in all our games and that’s what we want to do.
“Our approach will not all of a sudden change, we just review our last game, we prepare for the Netherlands first and the process we do will not be a lot different because I think we still do good things, we have to do better in moments of the game.
“In the final third we create a lot of chances but have to be more ruthless and we have to be aware of the counter-attack, be better and tighter on the ball.”
Wiegman also took time to congratulate Chelsea manager Emma Hayes on her appointment as new head coach of the United States women’s team, a role she will take up at the end of the season.
“She’s done a tremendous job, incredible results she’s had over a decade,” Wiegman added.
“I think for her it’s good to move on and I congratulated her of course with the new job, it’s very exciting for her. For her it’s really good and overall in the bigger picture it’s good for the women’s game too.”
Michel proud Girona's Champions League bow despite late defeat
Michel has urged his team to be proud of their Champions League debut, despite a heartbreaking late defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors neutralised PSG's attack for much of the game, only for Paulo Gazzaniga, who had made a number of good saves, to let Nuno Mendes' tame delivery slip through his hands and into the back of the net.
The goalkeeper's own goal was the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022 (Porto's Ivan Marcano vs Atletico Madrid), while it was the first-ever such goal that proved to be the winner.
Despite the defeat, the Girona head coach praised his team's effort and the performance of his goalkeeper up until the goal.
"Now in the dressing room, people are a little bit down," Michel told reporters. "I told them that we have to be proud of the game we played.
"PSG subdued us, Gazzaniga made some good saves. There were two or three that could have been goals.
"We have to recognise that their victory is deserved but we are proud of the way we work.
"Let's see if we get another chance to come to Paris next year."
The Spaniard admitted his players were nervous in their first taste of Europe's elite club competition, but he was satisfied with their game as they faced a top-level team.
"At the start of the game, we were very nervous, you could see that. But as the first half went on, we found personality, commitment, attitude," he added.
"In the second half, we were tired. PSG pressed us more, we were continually defending a lot. We passed our first experience in the Champions League.
"We competed against a great team where the pressure can stiffen you and the team gave a good performance."
Girona face Feyenoord in their second league-phase fixture.
'Worse than giving birth' - Luis Enrique notes tough nature of PSG win
Luis Enrique compared Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener to childbirth as he admitted he did not enjoy watching their tense late win over Girona.
PSG secured victory after Girona's goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had thwarted numerous efforts from the French champions, made a calamitous error in the final minutes.
Nuno Mendes' tame, low delivery into the box slipped through the goalkeeper's grasp and into the back of the net, snatching PSG all three points in a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and Luis Enrique acknowledged the tough nature of this victory.
"I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy," Luis Enrique told Movistar Plus.
"At half-time, we said that if we didn't press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult.
"It was very difficult. I told [Girona manager] Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect."
Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight sides in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.
Luis Enrique observed that the format creates uncertainty about the significance of results.
"Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don't know the dimensions of this competition with this format," he added.
"We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up."
Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before half-time. However, Luis Enrique was confident in the strength of his squad.
"He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad."
PSG will next play Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Atlanta United 2-2 Inter Miami: Miranchuk stunner ends visitors' winning run
Aleksei Miranchuk's stunning late goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Atlanta United, ending Inter Miami's winning streak.
The visitors brought Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez off the bench in the second half but were unable to make it six wins on the bounce.
Miami had the better of the first half, with Julian Gressel forcing Brad Guzan into an acrobatic save before David Ruiz snuck in behind the hosts' defence to slot a lovely low shot into the bottom-right corner.
In the 56th minute, Saba Lobjanidze met Pedro Amador's whipped cross with a thumping header, nodding it through Drake Callender's legs, and the keeper arguably should have done better.
But just three minutes later, Miami were back in front – Leonardo Campana's free-kick from just outside the box took a huge deflection off the wall, giving the keeper no chance.
Messi led the search for a late third, with his low shot palmed away by Guzan straight into Suarez's path, but Amador was perfectly placed on the line to block it.
Atlanta then went straight up the other end, with Miranchuk floating a wonderful shot into the top-left corner after cutting inside from the right before Lobjanidze's late effort deflected off Ian Fray onto the post.
Miami are now eight points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, while Atlanta sit in 11th.
Data Debrief: Campana makes Miami history
Campana may have got a bit of luck with his goal due to a wicked deflection, but he will not care one bit, as that strike was his 30th goal for Miami.
He now becomes the outright all-time leading scorer for the club, overtaking Gonzalo Higuain, though Messi is just three behind him.
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