- Defender has been a stalwart for her country
- Has taken the armband on several occasions
- Now 34 years of age and out of favour
WHAT HAPPENED? The vastly-experienced Manchester City defender was named in Sarina Wiegman’s first squad as England boss back in 2021, but she was forced to withdraw from that selection due to injury and has not been capped since. Houghton had been hoping to force her way into contention for a place in the reigning European champions’ plans for another major tournament in Australia and New Zealand this summer, but those dreams appear destined to be dashed.
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WHAT THEY SAID: Wiegman has said when asked if Houghton will get the nod: “She's in a hard position. The chances are not that high. I will never close the door. When you're England coach, you want everyone to be available. Things happen and for some players that situation changes. But for this moment I make other choices.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wiegman went on to say of her reasons for overlooking former England captain Houghton, who is now 34 years of age: “Steph is a very good player, a very experienced player. Lots of respect for what she's done for the women's game. But the players I have in that position I don't want to take out, because I think they've performed really well. Of course it's difficult because she's done so much. I just try to communicate and give some context around my choices. That's hard because you know how hard every player works to get into the squad.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? England are due to open their 2023 World Cup campaign when facing Haiti on July 22, before then going on to tackle Denmark and China in their other Group D fixtures.