‘She hasn’t played enough’ – England boss Wiegman explains Kelly omission | OneFootball

Sarina Wiegman says that forward Chloe Kelly was not selected for her latest England squad due to a lack of playing minutes.

Wiegman named her 24-player squad for this month’s UEFA Women’s Nations League double-header against Portugal and Spain this afternoon.

Forward Kelly was a notable absentee from the roster. The player recently joined Arsenal on loan from Manchester City in a bid to get the game time needed to boost her hopes of representing England at this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO.

When commenting on her squad selection, England boss Wiegman explained that Kelly hasn’t had the on-field minutes to push her claims to represent the Lionesses this time around.

“She hasn’t played enough in my opinion but she has moved clubs now,” Wiegman said when speaking in an England media conference. “Last autumn, she hardly played. She built some credit but she had so few minutes.

“First, she can get started at Arsenal, get some minutes in, start playing and showing what she’s about then we can revisit that again.”

Kelly faces a race against time to return to the England squad before this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO but Wiegman is not ruling out the player’s chances.

She said “We had a good conversation yesterday and she understands but she’s not out for the EUROs. She’s in full training and when she’s back getting minutes and showing what she can do again, as I said, we will revisit it.

“There is some huge competition going on in the team.”

Kelly has had a tough period at Manchester City and the player issued a personal statement explaining her situation prior to joining Arsenal on loan. Wiegman is pleased to see Kelly join The Gunners and hopes that the move gives the player a mental lift.

She said “She was hurt and she was worried about her mental health, that’s what her [social media] statement was. I don’t have the full context but I’m just glad that she has got a move. She mentioned that it was really good for her and hopefully, she can play football, get a smile on her face again and show who she is as a footballer.”

England kick-off their UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign with an away fixture against Portugal on Friday 21 February 2025 before facing Spain at Wembley on Wednesday 26 February 2025.