England star Mary Earps more important than ever to Lionesses as Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton’s struggles create goalkeeper chaos
With shot-stoppers on the benches of Man City and Chelsea, Sarina Wiegman and the reigning European champions have a problem
England head coach Sarina Wiegman has had a few selection issues to deal with in her incredibly successful two-year tenure. At the European Championships in 2022, she guided the Lionesses to glory despite playing a striker in defence. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the Dutchwoman’s decision to change formation mid-tournament helped her team reach the final for the first time. Now, as England’s next cycle comes around, there is another issue brewing.
Six months ago, Wiegman couldn’t have envisaged a problem in the goalkeeping department. Three of the five shot-stoppers she'd called up in the past year were first-choice at club level, and the other two were seeing a decent amount of action in regularly rotated roles. But, at this moment, only one of those remains the undisputed No.1 at their club and one has even switched allegiances to another national team.
Fortunately for England, that No.1 is also their No.1 and, in Mary Earps, it’s also one of the best goalkeepers on the planet. Football is unpredictable, though, and should the Manchester United shot-stopper suffer a drop-off in form, pick up a suspension or something worse, there’s no obvious replacement primed and ready to pick up the baton.
Earps has been one of the Lionesses’ key players for a while now, such has been her incredible form since Wiegman took over. But as the October international break approaches, with the team in need of good results after defeat in their second UEFA Women’s Nations League group-stage game against the Netherlands, there might not be anyone more important to this England side right now.
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