Toone earns late England recall for World Cup play-off after Bronze injury forces Wiegman's hand

Ella Toone has been called into England’s squad for the Women’s World Cup play-off against Greece after Lucy Bronze picked up a minor injury, forcing manager Sarina Wiegman to reverse her earlier decision to omit the Manchester United midfielder.

Bronze sustained the knock during Chelsea’s 3-0 win over West Ham and will return to her club for further assessment, opening the door for Toone to rejoin the group ahead of Friday’s first leg at the Pankritio Stadium in Crete.

The 27-year-old had been one of the more high-profile absentees when Wiegman named her original 23-player squad last week, left out alongside fellow regular Chloe Kelly. The Dutch coach was candid about her reasons at the time, telling a press conference at St George’s Park that she “expected more” from both players.

“The levels weren’t what I expect from them on the pitch and I’ve had a conversation with them and there’s big competition going on too,” Wiegman said. “It has been a really hard decision for both of them. I really believe in them and we follow them really well and we expect a bit more and know they can bring more.”

Wiegman added that she hoped the pair would respond positively to the feedback. “I hope they come back even better than they were before,” she said, acknowledging it was “not a nice message” to deliver.

Toone’s form at club level has been limited this season under new Manchester United head coach Eva Olid, having completed 90 minutes just once in the current campaign. Her recall is therefore born of circumstance rather than a change in the manager’s assessment, though it does hand her an opportunity to make a case for a more permanent return.

England arrived in Crete on Wednesday ahead of the first leg, with the second leg scheduled for Tuesday at Leicester’s King Power Stadium. A place at the 2026 Women’s World Cup is at stake across the two matches.