England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that she will take her time to assess all options before appointing a permanent team captain.
Manchester City’s Steph Houghton has previously held the armband but her injury has resulted in Arsenal’s Leah Williamson leading the team for their last two games against North Macedonia and Luxembourg.
Wiegman confirmed this morning that Williamson will again lead the Lionesses out this weekend when they take on Northern Ireland in a FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifier at Wembley. On the subject of the captaincy, the England head coach said that she will take her time to appoint a long term leader with some influential players still sidelined.
“I’m not close yet,” Wiegman said in her pre-match press conference when asked whether she was close to appointing a permanent captain. “I think Leah does very well, she plays well and leads the group, she does a very good job.
“We haven’t had Steph (Houghton) and Lucy Bronze in our group, they’ve captained this team before so we will just take a little time and when everyone is fit and performs, I can see who is the best leader for the team.
“For now, Leah is doing a very good job so we will see what happens next.”
England are playing a first-ever competitive game at Wembley on Saturday evening and Wiegman expects the occasion to be a very special one for the Lionesses.
She said “It is obviously a great stadium and everyone wants to play there, it’s a competitive game, my third with England so it is very special. There will be a big crowd so that will be very nice too.
“Ultimately, we just want to play football wherever we play and put in a good performance in the game.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifier between England and Northern Ireland kicks-off at 5.15pm on Saturday evening. Tickets remain on general sale and are available here.