WHERE ARE YOU? The worrying lack of English players in some WSL starting XIs
It’s October 4th 2026. Sarina Wiegman has taken a couple of trains and a stroll to see Spurs take on London City Lionesses in the WSL as she prepares for England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Greece.
She settles down in her seat, takes a sip of her Bovril, unfolds the team sheet, and does a double-take. There are zero Lionesses starting for either XI. Has she wasted her time? Do any English players in either squad have any chance of being picked for these vital internationals?
It’s time to investigate…
No, this is not dystopian fiction, but a likely scenario if trends continue in the WSL. The World Cup in Brazil is next summer. The qualifiers for England are fast approaching. Not one, but two teams – London City Lionesses and Spurs – ran out for their season-opening matches with no English players at all in their starting line-ups.
So how can Wiegman choose from the widest possible pool of players when they’re not on view? And how can hopefuls get their minutes for their clubs in order to hit form and grab attention if they’re not picked? Yes, London City put a couple of English players on in the second half, Freya Godfrey and Poppy Pattinson, who were both nailed-on starters in the latter stages of last season, and both rightly called into England squads. And yes, when Japanese defender Toko Koga was injured off for Spurs, Ella Morris came on. But these felt like cameos, albeit very striking cameos for all three.
We spoke to eight of the WSL head coaches to get their thoughts – including Spurs and London City. After all, the WSL is an English league, and you would hope that getting England hopefuls on the pathway to international caps and success would be a win-win approach for players, coaches, clubs… and country. This, however, is not an opinion they all share. Some are pragmatic, some ruthless, some sit on the fence, and some see the value of having an English heart in their teams.
Yes, fans like to see outrageous skills, flair, flicks, tricks, and moments that take their breath away. And fans also like to sing: “one of our own/ she’s one of our own”. But what if there are no homegrown players on the pitch? And do the head coaches care about that?
You might be surprised at who sits in which camp. It is not necessarily English coaches promoting English players. If you were looking for a common theme, it could be that those who previously played for their home nation have a more nuanced, thoughtful response. Maybe they look at the future just as much as the next fixture.
Let’s listen to what each of them says.
Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea
You started your first match with five England players [Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Lauren James, Aggie Beever-Jones]. But what do you think about some WSL teams starting with no England players at all – in what is an English league?
That’s a good point. I think I made it clear when I came here.
Yes, I’m a foreigner, but I think keeping the English DNA, having players who are coming from this country in your team and being the foundations and the base is really important.
I was quite protective of that when I was at Lyon. We had a lot of French players playing for the national team who were the foundations of the team.
I think it’s important. So I didn’t change my mind coming into Chelsea.
I still think it’s important for us to keep quite a strong foundation of English players and staff.
So, yeah, our job is to make sure also we do the job for this country, even if I’m not from this country.
I’ll be always pleased and keen to work with English players, because I think we need to respect the culture of the country, and we need to make sure we also help to develop what is needed for the future of the game here in this country.
Probably some have answers different for me, and really good answers for the reasons why they haven’t done that!
Jo Potter: Crystal Palace
You were an England international yourself, and last weekend a couple of WSL teams had no English players starting, where Palace had the most. And I wonder how important you think it is, representing and getting minutes, for those who have a chance of going to the World Cup?
I think it’s each to their own.
Each club is very different, and everybody has their own recruitment aspects of what they’re going after.
I think it’s up to the club, and good luck to them and whatever choice they choose to make.
We went after a certain calibre of player and a certain experience within our league and we saw that was with some homegrown players.
So, we’re happy that we can give those players opportunity and chances, but that’s not just because they’re English, it’s because we feel that they’re good players.
Yeah, I think it’s each club to their own – and we’re in a position where we’re lucky enough to have the players in the building and giving them opportunities.
That’s not to say that one way is right and one way is wrong…
Martin Ho: Spurs
Both London City and yourselves had no English players in your starting XIs. And there’s a slight worry among England fans that this might hinder the Lionesses going into the World Cup if the players aren’t getting the minutes. I’m thinking of Ella Morris in particular…
I think you can look at it from any perspective. Everyone’s going to want England players. I think there’s a lot of depth in that England under-23 squad that can be around the senior team – and there’s under-20s and under-19s. But what I also think is as a head coach, as a club, as a league, we’re here to win games and we’re here to win for the football club.
And I think the national teams definitely understand that.
We’re not here to just play England players, so they play for England.
We’re here to make sure that we’re in a job that we can help this club win, help this club win honours, make sure we develop players, make sure we put a team out that’s going to win the game on a weekend.
So that’s the biggest challenge for us as coaches.
That’s not to say that England players aren’t going to get a chance.
If you look within the league, there’s a lot of English players and young players playing.
And that maybe is a wider question across the whole of English football.
But I think what you’re trying to do as a coach is you’re trying to put out the best team that you think tactically wins you the game.
And I believe on the weekend, the team we put out for the game was the right one.
Natalia Arroyo: Aston Villa
There’s been much discussion this week on English players not starting in WSL games. Do you think that could impact the Lionesses next summer?
Well, any analysis that you do on knowledge of just one game probably is a little rash or too early, but definitely something that at some point, the people who are responsible for that will need to review.
If it’s the federation, the national team or the league itself, that’s a natural thing for women’s sports and other leagues. If you have a rule or if you need to force things.
In the men’s leagues, as well, there are other countries that are trying to set some rules so that you make sure that your league is developing your players.
But in my experience, the stronger the league is, the better it is for your players.
The stronger challenge that they face every day, the better the players become. It can be with playing minutes, which is what the players want and what you as a coach want, if you are selecting – if you are Sarina or Sonia [Bermúdez] in Spain. But 20 minutes in a high-quality game are really a big 20 minutes. If at some point that becomes 70 or 90, even better, but you always have a lot of angles to the same reality.
On the other hand, I remember for Spain, you felt at the Olympic Games, they were tired. After a really, really heavy season where every single player was playing a lot. So maybe it’s a good thing if they’re a little bit rested, who knows…
Andrée Jeglertz: Man City
There are two answers. The first one is that the club has a responsibility to raise young players, give our own talents the possibility to be in the squad, to compete every week.
That is the club’s responsibility, and of course, I’m part of that.
But coming to team selection – I always need to pick the team that gives us the best chance to win the game. And if that contains eight English players that are young and promising or zero at that point, I don’t care.
I just want to win the game and if we have a lot of English players in our squad, of course that gives better opportunities, but the most important thing for me is to select a team that gave us best chance to win the game.
Karen Hills: Charlton
London City and Spurs started their matches with zero England players. And I wonder what you thought about that and the importance of players getting minutes ahead of the World Cup.
Yeah, of course you want the WSL to have young English players to have the opportunity to play and you put them in the best place to play for the country.
Every team does things differently.
Obviously, budget as well probably helps.
There’s a big influx this year of European players, overseas players across every single team, including ours. It’s something we’re excited about because it adds a different dimension to the changing room, the standards.
What we would hope is that the players that come in from these different environments and cultures actually enhance what we’re already doing and maybe challenge and give us some different opportunities.
I think the younger players, for us, we’ve really embraced it.
And I think the different cultures they’ve come from, the different experiences, are a really positive thing for the league.
You still want those homegrown players to keep getting opportunities and keep banging on the door to be the starting players.
But ultimately, every team wants to win, right?
And you’re going to put the best players that you have available on the pitch to win that game.
Eder Maestre: London City Lionesses
There were no England players in your first starting XI – or Spurs. And I wonder, as the World Cup is next year, and Lionesses players like Freya and Poppy need to get minutes, there is a worry among England fans, that they may not be ready and not in the pool for selection.
I think it’s a consequence of the players that we had ready and available to face United.
The circumstances were as they were.
I’m not worried about the situation because as you mentioned, we have good [English] players to have involved in starting XI, like Poppy, Freya, but we have others like Izzy, Nikita, and Mary.
It’s about the circumstances, the match plan and thinking on everything.
Finally, you have a Plan A. I don’t like to say starters.
I prefer explaining like a Plan A. And the players we have on the bench [are] suited better in terms of how to apply any different plan for any reason that can happen [in the game].
Renée Slegers: Arsenal
Against Brighton, you had three England players starting: Georgia, Leah and Alessia. Two on the bench, Lotte and Taylor. And three to come back from injury, Chloe, Katie and Michelle.
I wonder what you thought about clubs having no English players in their starting XIs, because surely in an English league there should be a feeling that the Lionesses need minutes with a World Cup coming.
Yeah, I think it’s, of course, credit to the league that it’s so attractive.
Players want to come here and compete.
So that’s really positive.
I think if I just talk from an Arsenal perspective, it’s really positive that we have the amount of English players that we have in the squad that feel strongly and deeply connected to Arsenal, to England, the culture, the football historically.
Then again, but having other influences coming in and then the diversity that you can create, that’s something really exciting, I think.
But yeah, we’re really proud to have so many England players in the squad.
Photos: Helen M Jerome
