Toone added to England squad as Bronze withdraws ahead of Greece play-off

Ella Toone has been added to England's squad and Lucy Bronze has withdrawn as the Lionesses arrived in Crete on Wednesday evening to prepare for this month's Women's World Cup play-off ties against Greece.

Toone and Arsenal winger Chloe Kelly were omitted from the initial squad, with manager Sarina Wiegman saying "they have not played to their potential in my opinion in the last couple of weeks". Toone has made 69 England appearances since making her debut in February 2021 and has scored 24 goals in senior England appearances, winning Euro 2022 and Euro 2025 as well as starting in England's 2023 World Cup final defeat by Spain. Speaking after being left out of the squad, Toone said: "It's been a really difficult week. It's not the news that any footballer wants."

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze has left the England squad and will return to her club to manage a minor injury sustained in league action last weekend against West Ham.

The Lionesses are preparing for a two-legged play-off against Greece, with the first leg scheduled for Friday at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion. The second leg will take place at Leicester City's King Power Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October.

The winners of the England v Greece tie will go on to face either Slovakia or Ukraine on 26 November and 5 December in a further two-legged play-off to decide which team progresses to next year's Women's World Cup, which is being held in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July.