Kelly and Kirby return to Lionesses squad to face USA and Czechs

Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby are back in Sarina Wiegman’s England squad for upcoming clashes with the United States and Czech Republic.

The two Euro 2022 heroines missed the Lionesses’ September camp through injury but return to the fold, along with the uncapped trio of Lucy Parker, Esme Morgan and Jess Park.

Parker, 23, has established herself as a regular in the backline of improving WSL outfit West Ham, while fellow defender Morgan, 21, has only recently returned to action with Manchester City after a leg break last September.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old forward Park — on loan at Everton this term from the Citizens — is rewarded for a fine start to the new campaign after grabbing a goal and an assist in the Toffees’ impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool last weekend.

Missing out on a call-up from the last squad are the quartet of Lotte Wubben-Moy, Jordan Nobbs, Nikita Parris and Bethany England.

For Lionesses boss Wiegman, preparations for next year’s World Cup are already well under way and she hopes her 24-strong squad can lay down a marker against the tournament favourites on October 8.

On the upcoming fixtures, the 52-year-old said: "Our focus is now firmly on the Women’s World Cup next summer.

"All of our time together is vitally important and this is an opportunity for those selected to apply themselves to the best of their ability on and off the pitch.

"The challenge of facing the world champions is one we look forward to and it is another tough fixture to measure our progress as we look to continue to make the next step forward.

"We are so excited to be able to go back to Wembley after our incredible experience in July.

"It will be a special evening and a great celebration for our fans, but we also know it will be a challenging game against very strong opposition.

"We are working hard towards next summer and this will help us understand where we are in our preparation."

The Dutch coach is also expecting a challenging evening in Brighton’s Amex Stadium against the Czechs four days later.

She added: "It would also be wrong to underestimate how good the Czech team is with our next match.

"We saw them draw 0-0 away to the US earlier this year and they also drew twice with the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying.

"As it will be at Wembley, we want to be able to say ‘thank you’ to the fans at Brighton.

"They were such a special part of what we all achieved and we will always have good memories of the stadium. They created a brilliant atmosphere that helped inspire us on the pitch.”

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Sandy MacIver (Manchester City), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)

Defenders: Mille Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lucy Parker (West Ham), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jess Park (Everton), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)

Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Ebony Salmon (Houston Dash)