England boss Sarina Wiegman says Beth Mead was “not close” to a recall for this month’s Nations League double-header against Belgium despite her return to action with Arsenal last weekend. Winger Mead made her first appearance since sustaining ACL damage last November when she came off the bench late on for the Gunners against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, going on to set up the winning goal in a 2-1 victory. The Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner and player of the tournament was missing from the 25-player England squad announced on Tuesday for matches against Belgium in Leicester a week on Friday and Leuven four days later. Wiegman told a press conference: “To be honest, she was not close. “She’s in a good place now. She’s been out for nine months, she had her first minutes, which was very nice to see. “She was really happy, the crowd was very happy so it gave a lot of energy too. “But I think she first has to build and show performances at club, and get that consistency back. “Then of course I hope she performs at that level we hope she gets back on and then we have an opportunity to select her, and she has the opportunity to compete with the players who are in the squad right now.” Wiegman’s selection does see Fran Kirby – another who missed the summer’s run to the final of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand because of injury – return to the fold. Kirby has featured in each of Chelsea’s three matches this term, starting Saturday’s win against West Ham, as she steps up her comeback from a knee problem suffered in February. Wiegman said: “Of course it’s very nice that she’s back on the pitch and is fit and healthy. “She did well with Chelsea when she came on the pitch. I think she has been building up to those moments, also during the summer, and she’s shown enough quality in her performance that I think it’s good that she comes back in the team.” Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh is also back after being sidelined by a calf issue for September’s win over Scotland and loss to the Netherlands, as is Mead’s club-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy, who withdrew from the last squad with an injury. There are maiden call-ups for Grace Clinton, the 20-year-old midfielder on loan at Tottenham from Manchester United, and 19-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating, while Katie Robinson, Jordan Nobbs, Laura Coombs and Lucy Staniforth drop out. Wiegman said: “I think, yes it goes fast for both, Khiara at Man City and Grace at Tottenham, but I think they have showed good performances, and what I want to see from them is come in camp, see how they relate to the other players in the squad, and show what they can do.” Keating is among four goalkeepers in the squad, a group also featuring fellow City player Ellie Roebuck and Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, neither of whom have made an appearance for their clubs so far this season. Asked if Roebuck and Hampton’s inclusion was an indication that the goalkeeping pool was not as big as she would like at the moment, Wiegman said: “That’s a little bit complicated indeed. “Yes we want players to play, because when they play we can see them and their performances make us pick them. “Both of them have built a little bit of credit with us, because they have been with our team for a long period of time and done well in training sessions, and shown up all the time. “I think they still are with the best goalkeepers in the country and I just hope in the future they do get minutes.” England, who can secure Paris 2024 Olympics qualification for Great Britain via the Nations League, face a Belgium outfit who have four points from their two group games so far. Read More Fran Kirby returns to Lionesses squad as Sarina Wiegman reveals Beth Mead decision Matthew Mott says Ben Stokes ‘spoke really well’ after shock England loss Marcus Smith on modified training as England prepare for South Africa showdown ‘Middle of 2024’ predicted for Savannah Marshall’s rematch with Claressa Shields

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The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below. Get all the latest live football odds here.

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Spain take on Sweden and England face co-hosts Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals. Here, the PA news agency looks at what the tournament statistics can tell us about the games ahead. Spain v Sweden The two top-scoring semi-finalists meet in Auckland on Tuesday, with Spain having scored 15 goals – matching eliminated Japan for the tournament high – and Sweden 11. The Scandinavians have actually had the fewest attempts on goal of any of the last four, just 62, but have the best conversion rate, having scored with 18 per cent of their shots. Four-goal defender Amanda Ilestedt is also the unlikely leading challenger to current Golden Boot leader Hinata Miyazawa, whose Japan side Sweden knocked out in the quarter-finals. Ilestedt aside, the statistics heavily favour Sweden. Among the semi-finalists, they rank first and Spain fourth for total shots and shots on target, ball progressions both attempted and completed, line breaks attempted and take-ons completed. Some hope for Sweden comes from Spain’s defensive record – their six goals conceded is at least twice as many as any of the other remaining teams. Japan scored four of those, and Miyazawa two, in a surprisingly one-sided final game in Group C – but having beaten the Nadeshiko, Sweden will be confident. They will also know they can respond if, as the statistics point to, they fall behind – Spain have scored nine goals in the first half of games but seven of Sweden’s 11 have come after the break. The two teams have each used 22 of their 23 available players, with only their respective third-choice goalkeepers Enith Salon and Tove Enblom yet to play a single minute in the tournament. Australia v England England and Australia, by contrast, have used only 17 players apiece and fatigue could be a factor in the second semi-final in Sydney. England’s 553 minutes played is the most in the tournament, closely followed by their opponents with almost 548 minutes. Five Australians and three England players have played every one of those minutes, with Australia naming nine of the same 11 starters in every game – goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and the back four of Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy and Steph Catley, plus Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord – and England six. Working in England’s favour in that regard could be the distance the respective teams have covered. Their 562.3km is 2.5km lower than any other semi-finalist, with Australia once more ranking second in that regard, and England also have the lowest proportion of that spent sprinting or “high-speed running” at 27 per cent, according to FIFA’s official statistics, and the highest proportion of walking at 39 per cent. England have scored 10 goals to Australia’s nine and are the most accurate shooters of the remaining teams, with 44 per cent of their efforts on target, while Australia are least accurate at 30 per cent. The co-hosts have had more total shots, 76 to England’s 68, but have allowed 64 at the other end compared to just 52 on Mary Earps’ goal. Expect England to have the bulk of the possession – they have attempted and completed over 1,000 more passes than Australia, 2,691 of 3,100 compared to 1,584 of 2,061. Australia are only the second country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup as host nation, following the United States who won the 1999 final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and were also semi-finalists in 2003.

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