England keeping close eye on safety before World Cup qualifier in Turkey | OneFootball

Sarina Wiegman says England’s women’s team have had reassurances they are safe in Turkey but remain in close contact with the authorities about the developing conflict in the Middle East, as they prepare to face Ukraine in a Women’s World Cup qualifier.

Tuesday’s match is being played in Antalya, along Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, on neutral ground because of the war in Ukraine. The Lionesses travelled to Antalya to begin a training camp last week, landing before the war began in the Middle East.

The UK Foreign Office is advising against travel to any area of Turkey within 10km of the border with Syria, which does not include Antalya. Its advice for those in the rest of Turkey is to remain vigilant, take shelter if advised to do so and stay away from areas around security or military facilities.

“If our government thinks it’s not safe, then we’ll go back; at this moment we don’t have signals of that,” Wiegman said calmly at a press conference on Monday. “Yes, we did have reassurances. Of course we are in close contact with our government, but also with the responsible people here, so our security team is really in contact with them and we’re fine here, but they’re keeping an eye on it and are in contact with the authorities all the time.

“Of course you’re concerned about what’s happening in the world – that’s not nice. You don’t want war, do you? That makes it really hard.”

The uncertainty of the situation was illustrated by the unusually quiet media session. Only Sky Sports News asked questions at England’s press conference on Monday in-person, after the other UK media organisations who had been planning to travel, including the Guardian, cancelled over safety concerns.

The match is the first of six World Cup qualifiers for England in a group that also includes Spain and Iceland. Wiegman said every member of her current squad was available.

The Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway, who spoke alongside the head coach, said she was “very close” to knowing her next club after announcing in January that she would leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Arsenal are understood to be the favourites.

Stanway said moving to Bayern had been “one of the best decisions of her life” and that it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave. The 27-year-old said she had spoken to Wiegman about it.

Stanway and Wiegman expressed joy at news that the England and Aston Villa midfielder Missy Bo Kearns is expecting her first child. Wiegman said: “I’m very happy for her, it’s great news. I think she’s doing well. I hope all things go well”

Header image: [Photograph: Naomi Baker/The FA/Getty Images]