Maya retains England place as Euro build-up begins
Maya Le Tissier has retained her place in the England squad for this month’s friendlies with Austria and Italy as the Lionesses prepare to defend their European title.
The Guernsey star, who has once again been an ever-present at the heart of the Manchester United defence in the Women’s Super League this season, is part of a 23-strong squad named by manager Sarina Wiegman, which also includes Leah Williamson after her recent return from a serious knee injury.
England face Austria on Friday 23 February (7.45pm GMT) and Italy on Tuesday 27 February (5pm GMT). Both fixtures will be played at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras, Spain.
‘This is the beginning of our preparation for the Euro qualifiers and then hopefully for the Euros so we can try things out. We can see many players to see where they’re at, so I’m very excited to start again next week,’ said Wiegman.
‘Playing against strong teams like Austria and Italy is just the preparation we need before we kick off our qualifying campaign in April.
‘It is the first time we will be back together as a group since last year. Travelling away for this camp will give us a great opportunity to connect again on and off the pitch and allow us to give minutes to many players.
‘Being in Spain with hopefully good weather and excellent facilities is the perfect setting for the work we need to do as a team to get us ready for another very important year ahead.’
The Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 qualifying draw on Tuesday 5 March will determine the match schedule for the Lionesses during the qualification phase which runs between April and July.
