How Sarina Wiegman reacted to England star's big call on eve of Euros defence
England manager Sarina Wiegman will be without three key members of the victorious Euro 2022 squad as the Lionesses defend their title in Switzerland this summer
Former England star Fran Kirby has given credit to Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman for looking out for her after a difficult retirement decision. Kirby called time on her international career just days before Wiegman announced her squad for Euro 2025.
Brighton star Kirby, 31, had intended for the upcoming Euros to be her final tournament for her country. When she learned she was unlikely to make the holders' squad, though, she brought forward that retirement decision.
Kirby announced her international retirement during the recent international break, when England faced Portugal and Spain in the UEFA Nations League. She wanted to ensure it was all in the past by the time the Euros came around, and has spoken highly of manager Wiegman's reaction.
"Speaking to people who know me very well, I knew that it was going to be my last tournament for England," she said at an event hosted by leading ticket marketplace, viagogo. "So I invested everything for the whole year to get there and had conversations with Sarina. She said that it was highly unlikely that I'd be going, which was really tough [to hear].
"But I really respected the honesty and having that conversation. I could then give her my honesty. I hadn't told anyone in the team before this moment when I told Sarina, 'It's very likely that I will be retiring from the national team. Thank you for everything, being a part of this team has been amazing.'"
England will begin their campaign with a tough game against France. The two national sides met in qualifying, claiming one win apiece, and are joined in Group D by The Netherlands and Wales.
Kirby scored twice during England's run to Euros glory on home soil in 2022, and started the final against Germany. She opted against making herself available for the standby list, citing some niggling injuries over the last few months, and welcomed the support shown by Wiegman.
"She was emotional about it but we had that conversation a few days prior to the Spain game," Kirby added. "I can only speak from my own experience with her, but I really respected the way that she tried to look out for me.
"She said, 'Look, you've made this decision. I've told you that you're not going to the Euros. You told me you're retiring. Do you want to go home and mentally decompress?' I said, 'I want to be here for the team. I want to train hard. I want to be here. I want to enjoy my last few days as an England player.'
"She really took that on. In the last training session, she tried to give me some good feedback from training. We had a picture after training, I had a picture with a few of the other girls. She really respected the way that I wanted to tell people and how I wanted to tell people.
"She was great for me in that period but I can imagine it was tough for her to tell me, and there were moments of emotion from both of us, which is normal. We've worked together for such a long time. I have nothing bad to say about my experience because I'm proud of my international career and I'm really proud and happy with the way that it ended."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Maresca's mixed messaging on sale of two academy defenders
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has ruled out any potential sale of teenage defender Josh 19-year-old signed a contract until 2029 in December, but was linked last week with moves to Tottenham, Newcastle or Borussia Maresca is a huge fan of Acheampong, who started against ES Tunis in the final group game at the Club World Cup, and ruled out his sale before Saturday's last-16 tie against Benfica."The clubs that you mentioned, they like Josh - but we also like Josh," Maresca said. "Any club likes good players. My plan with Josh is quite clear. I said many times that I really like Josh."He potentially can be a top defender for this club. It's on him to have the right timing to do the things. We are full of young players here, full of talented players - even defenders. "The best plan for Josh is to be with us and I'm very happy if he's going to be with us."The Italian was less strong when asked if Chelsea could sell fellow defender Trevoh Chalobah, added: "All the players that are here with us, I don't want to lose them. But then we said many times that when the window is open, unfortunately, anything can happen - to buy a player or to sell a player."Trevoh came back to us in January. We made the Champions League spot in the top four and that's also because of Trevoh. He helped us a lot. In this moment, he played also some games here."He is with us. We are happy with him. When the window is open, anything can happen - but not only for Trevoh, also for the 25 players of the squad."
The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Duxbury to Doyle: what happened next for England's Euro Under-21 champions
Iain Hesford (goalkeeper): Made 202 appearances for Blackpool and played for other clubs including Sunderland. Died in 2014 at 54. Danny Thomas (defender): To date the only English player to win the Under-21 Euros twice. His career ended at 26 after a severe knee injury. He played 187 league games for Coventry and Spurs, won the Uefa Cup with the latter in 1984 and got two senior England caps. Tommy Caton (defender): Two-leg final came months after he became, with Manchester City, the youngest player to make 100 First Division appearances. Moved to Arsenal and then had spells at Oxford United and Charlton. Retired at the age of 30 and died a month later after a heart attack. Terry Fenwick (defender): Made more than 450 league appearances, most for QPR, and played 20 times for the England senior team. One of the five players Diego Maradona dribbled past en route to scoring the 'goal of the century' at the 1986 World Cup. Mike Duxbury (defender): Handed his debut in the first leg and scored in the second. Made 299 league appearances for Manchester United, with whom he won two FA Cups, and got 10 senior caps before finishing with Blackburn and Bradford City. Ray Ranson (defender): Left Manchester City for Birmingham in 1984 and other clubs included Newcastle. Also had a notable business career and became chairman of Coventry. Gary Owen (midfielder): England's oldest player scored twice in the first leg. Played most notably for Manchester City and West Brom. Steve McCall (midfielder): England's holding midfielder had been a key figure in Ipswich's 1981 Uefa Cup victory. He made more than 300 appearances for the club and played professionally until he was 39. Sammy Lee (midfielder): England's captain played almost 300 times for Liverpool, winning four league titles and two European Cups, and got 14 senior caps. Became an assistant manager, notably to Sam Allardyce, and briefly a manager. Adrian Heath (midfielder): Club-record signing for Everton when he moved from Stoke shortly before the Euros. Since retiring in 1997, he has spent time managing a number of teams in the US. Gary Shaw (forward): Before this triumph his goals had propelled Aston Villa to a First Division title and European Cup, but his career was seriously hindered by a knee injury in 1983. Died in 2024. Paul Goddard (forward): Played (and scored) for the senior team before this tournament in a friendly against Iceland but that proved his only senior appearance. Led the line for a number of top-division clubs, including West Ham. David Hodgson (forward): Successes at Middlesbrough had earned a move to Liverpool and he played for five other Football League clubs and had spells in Spain, Japan, and France. Later managed Darlington. Justin Fashanu (forward): One of the first £1m players, and the first professional footballer in England to come out as gay, he played for 22 clubs. Killed himself in 1998, aged 37. Peter Hucker (goalkeeper): Left QPR, after 160 league games, for Oxford in 1986. Runs a string of football schools in London and Essex. Gary Bailey (goalkeeper): Made 375 appearances for Manchester United under Dave Sexton (who delivered these Euros in 1982 and 1984), Ron Atkinson and Alex Ferguson. Capped only twice by England, with Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence ahead of him. Dave Watson (defender): Earned the first of 12 senior England caps a month after the Euros victory. Fruitful career with Norwich and Everton. He won a league title and FA Cup with the latter. Gary Stevens (defender): After another six years at Spurs he left for Portsmouth. Won seven England caps, two at the 1986 World Cup. Went on to coach and manage, including in Thailand. Mel Sterland (defender): Shooting ability earned him the nickname Zico. Left boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday for Rangers and then joined Leeds. His one England cap came against Saudi Arabia in 1988. Derek Mountfield (defender): His only under-21 appearance came in the second leg. Enjoyed success with Everton before playing for clubs including Aston Villa and Wolves. Nick Pickering (defender): Had made his one senior England appearance, in a friendly against Australia, before this final. Left Sunderland in 1986 for Coventry, where he won the FA Cup. Danny Thomas (midfielder): Won again. Paul Bracewell (midfielder): Won major trophies with Everton after leaving Sunderland, for whom he played in three spells. Won three England caps and had short-lived forays into management with Fulham and Halifax. Kevin Brock (midfielder): Spent the longest spells of his career at Oxford and Newcastle. After retiring he had lengthy and fruitful spells of management with non-league Banbury United and Ardley United. Steve Hodge (midfielder): Got 24 England caps and made 386 league appearances for clubs including Forest and Villa. Sold the shirt he got from Maradona after the 1986 World Cup quarter-final for £7.1m in 2022. Danny Wallace (forward): Moved in 1989 from Southampton to Manchester United. Won one senior cap, scoring against Egypt. Diagnosed in 1996 with multiple sclerosis. Howard Gayle (forward): Trailblazer had in 1980 become the the first black player to play for Liverpool. Played in the Euros final at the age of 25 and went on to play for clubs including Sunderland and Blackburn. Mark Hateley (forward): Another to feature at the 1986 World Cup. Racked up goals for Milan and Monaco before earning a £4.3m move to Rangers, where he scored 112 goals and has been named in their greatest team. Mich d'Avray (forward) Spent 11 of his 13 years as a professional at Ipswich, making 211 league appearances. Later managed in South Africa, where he was born. Nigel Callaghan (forward): Spent most of his career with Watford, getting to an FA Cup final and winning promotion to the top flight. His professional career ended at 29, and he pursued his passion for DJing, including on the Greek island of Corfu. James Trafford (goalkeeper): A £15m move from Manchester City to Burnley was confirmed during the tournament. Relegated then promoted after conceding only 16 goals. Wanted by Newcastle. Taylor Harwood-Bellis (defender): Joined Southampton from Manchester City after five loans, the last with Saints. The centre-back has shown promise, scoring on his senior international debut. James Garner (defender): Remains at Everton, for whom he has made 59 Premier League appearances over the past two seasons. Levi Colwill (defender): Has made himself a staple of Enzo Maresca's Chelsea and earned senior caps. Max Aarons (defender): Move to Bournemouth has not lived up to expectations, loan to Valencia brought only four appearances and recently joined Rangers on loan. Curtis Jones (midfielder): On track to pass 200 appearances for Liverpool next season. Made his senior England debut against Greece last year, scoring in the process. Morgan Gibbs-White (midfielder): Transformation under Nuno Espírito Santo at Nottingham Forest earned the midfielder his senior England debut last September. Emile Smith Rowe (midfielder): Arsenal academy graduate has not added to three senior England caps and moved to Fulham last summer. Angel Gomes (midfielder): Left Lille for Marseille this summer. Another to have graduated into the senior England team. Anthony Gordon (forward): Has become a crucial player for Newcastle and made 10 senior appearances for England. Cole Palmer (forward): Left Manchester City for Chelsea soon after winning this Euros title and had a breakout season. Scored England's equaliser in the Euro 2024 final. Noni Madueke (midfielder, substitute): Has played seven times for England and started 27 league games for Chelsea last season. Cameron Archer (forward, substitute): Has experienced relegation from the Premier League with Sheffield United athen Southampton, where he remains. Oliver Skipp (midfielder, substitute): After Leicester bought him from Spurs in a deal worth more than £20m last summer, he has made only 10 league starts. Harvey Elliott (midfielder, substitute): Fired the under-21s into the 2025 final with two goals against the Netherlands. Giving serious thought to leaving Liverpool after barely getting a look-in last season. Tommy Doyle (midfielder, substitute): A successful loan at Wolves from Manchester City led to a permanent transfer last summer.
The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sheffield Wednesday reach point of no return under Chansiri's ownership
Sheffield Wednesday have been testing the patience of the EFL and their fans since the controversial sale of Hillsborough to the owner, Dejphon Chansiri, seven years ago, but even so the escalation of the club's crisis from alarming to existential has happened at some speed. After years of somehow coping with transfer embargoes, points deductions, missed tax bills and the late payment of players, Chansiri's turbulent ownership appears to be reaching the point of no return. Wednesday were last week banned by the EFL from spending money on transfers until January 2027 for exceeding '30 days of late payments' to players in the previous 12 months and, the league clarified on Friday, for another missed payment to HMRC. The club, who have appealed against that penalty, will be in danger of having no players if they fail to pay June's wages on Monday's due date. Under Fifa regulations players would be entitled to give notice of their intent to terminate their contracts. The regulations state: 'In the case of a club unlawfully failing to pay a player at least two monthly salaries on their due dates, the player will be deemed to have a just cause to terminate his contract, provided that he has put the debtor club in default in writing and has granted a deadline of at least 15 days for the debtor club to fully comply with its financial obligation(s). Alternative provisions in contracts existing at the time of this provision coming into force may be considered.' Wednesday are understood to have belatedly paid some players last month's wages – payments for March were also late – but not all of Danny Röhl's squad have received their salaries. A club source said May's salary payments had been targeted, with Chansiri making sure the younger players and those under contract were paid in order to protect their resale value, whereas older squad members approaching the end of their contracts were not. The captain, Barry Bannan, the striker Callum Paterson and the defender Akin Famewo are out of contract next week after rejecting new deals offered last month, and it is unclear whether they have been paid. After contemplating a no-show Bannan is understood to have reported for duty as instructed on the first day of pre-season training on Thursday, but Paterson and Famewo did not turn up. All of Röhl's coaching staff are also out of contract next week and the manager, despite having two years on a contract that includes a seven-figure release clause, is expected to depart sooner rather than later. The German was interviewed by Southampton before they appointed Will Still last month, and is admired by Leicester, who have parted company with Ruud van Nistelrooy. Röhl may choose to leave Hillsborough even without a job to go to. Wednesday do not have pre-season fixtures arranged beyond an under-21s game against Frickley Athletic, and planned renovations to their training ground, including the installation of two new pitches, have not been completed. Hillsborough is in need of a major overhaul, with the infrastructure of the 126-year-old ground so poor that the boiler was unable to generate sufficient hot water for the players to shower in comfort at various points last season. Chansiri is believed to have acknowledged the gravity of the situation, and is willing to engage in serious talks regarding a sale. For years his family have funded multimillion-pound losses at Wednesday from the profits of their seafood business, Thai Union Group – total losses over his 10-year stewardship are more than £150m – but no longer appear willing to subsidise the club. TUG remains the world's biggest suppliers of canned tuna but its stock value has halved over the past decade, with the value of Chansiri's stake dropping from £18m to £9m. The family's overall stake is worth about 20 times that amount. Wednesday are attracting potential buyers, with two US consortiums understood to be particularly interested, but none have got anywhere near what they regard as Chansiri's outlandish valuation. Towards the end of last year the 57-year-old was telling brokers that Wednesday were worth twice as much as Sheffield United, who were being bought for £111m, and although his asking price has dropped it remains far too high for the would-be buyers. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion An independent analyst who has studied Wednesday's accounts said an enterprise value of about £40m was realistic given the club do not own Hillsborough, and that the amount could be doubled if the ground were part of a deal. The stadium is owned by a company called Sheffield 3 Limited, which is controlled by Chansiri. Wednesday's attempt to include the £60m stadium sale in their 2017-18 accounts for the purpose of profitability and sustainability regulations, even though it did not take place until the following season, led to their being docked six points by the EFL (reduced from 12 on appeal). Chansiri is conducting sale negotiations, often from Bangkok. Wednesday are woefully understaffed at management level, with no chief executive or sporting director, leaving the club secretary, Lindsey Hinton, to put out the fires locally. Chansiri issued a rare public statement on Thursday, saying a potential sale with an American group had collapsed after the buyer failed to pay a £5m deposit, but it will have done little to reassure supporters. 'I take full responsibility for being unable to fulfil my current obligations,' Chansiri said. 'But a further obligation I have is to ensure that if the club is sold, it is sold to the right people with the right credentials, who can sustain Sheffield Wednesday and take the club forward.'
