STEPH TOLD: EUR OUT

Ruthless Lionesses boss Wiegman drops former skipper from squad and admits: She wasn’t happy

ENGLAND manager Sarina Wiegman has revealed the awkward conversation that accompanied her shock decision to axe Steph Houghton from her Euros squad.

Houghton, 34, England’s captain at their last three major tournaments, was limited to five appearances for Manchester City last season because of Achilles and ankle injuries but had declared she was fully fit.

But Wiegman left the veteran out of her final 23-player squad and ruled out Houghton even being involved in a non-playing support role.

Wiegman (right) said: “We set a plan in place with her and for her, and she did everything she could do and we supported her as well as possible.

“She came into training in a very good place but she’s just not ready to compete. It’s just a matter of time and we don’t have that time.

“It was really hard, it was hard for every player that we have to disappoint. Of course she was really disappointed and I know she did everything to make it, so she wasn’t happy. She just took the arguments I gave her and we left it for now and we’ll be in contact later.”

As Houghton has not played for England since February last year, Arsenal’s Leah Williamson had already been confirmed as England’s new captain for the tournament.

With Wiegman reducing her 28-player provisional party ahead of this evening’s friendly with Belgium at Molineux, Houghton will not remain with the Lionesses squad.

And she faces not even making the stand-by list for the tournament that kicks off three weeks tonight when England meet Austria at Old Trafford.

Wiegman added: “She has a lot of experience but, in this squad, we have other players who can share experiences with the team, so it’s just

the 23. It’s hard but you have respect for each other and you have open, honest conversations.

“Every person reacts differently, some come back quickly, some take more time. Now we are 23, we play Belgium and then, after that, we will set in place our stand-by players.”

There was a spot in the squad for Chelsea midfielder Fran Kirby, who has not played since February due to chronic fatigue. Wiegman added: “She is doing well – she has been in training and played training games.”

There was also a place for 35-year-old Jill Scott, who could add to her 156 England caps at her fourth Euros, after being selected ahead of Katie Zelem and Lucy Staniforth.

Everton keeper Sandy MacIver and Chelsea defender Niamh Charles were also left out of the final squad.

■ England’s group matches at Euro 2022: Austria (Old Trafford, July 6, 8pm); Norway (Community Stadium, July 11, 8pm); Northern Ireland (St Mary’s, July 15, 8pm).

FULL SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Earps (Manchester United), Hampton (Aston Villa), Roebuck (Manchester City) Defenders: Bright (Chelsea), Bronze (Manchester City), Carter (Chelsea), Daly (Houston), Greenwood (Manchester City), Stokes (Manchester City), Wubben-Moy (Arsenal) Midfielders: Kirby (Chelsea), Scott (Manchester City), Stanway (Bayern Munich), Toone (Manchester United), Walsh (Manchester City), Williamson (Arsenal) Forwards: England (Chelsea), Hemp (Manchester City), Kelly (Man City), Mead (Arsenal), Parris (Arsenal), Russo (Man United), White (Man City)