Sarina Wiegman has confirmed that Keira Walsh is available for Sunday’s Arnold Clark Cup match against Italy after illness, with the England coach also taking aim at Tiger Woods for a recent golf course incident. The Barcelona midfielder missed Thursday’s 4-0 win over South Korea but is set to feature at Coventry.
“It is really nice for her that she is back, because of course she wants to be part of the team and we want to see her play,” Wiegman said. “It will be really nice to have her on the pitch.” Walsh’s return should allow captain Leah Williamson to move back to centre-back after filling in midfield against South Korea.
England remain unbeaten in 27 games under Wiegman and face a stern test against Italy, who won nine of their 10 World Cup qualifiers. “Italy are a pretty good team,” Wiegman said. “What they do tactically is they do different things in the game which will challenge us – sometimes a high press, sometimes dropping a little deeper.”
Wiegman was asked about Woods handing a tampon to Justin Thomas after outdriving him at the Genesis Invitational. The 15-time major winner apologised, saying: “If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry.” But Wiegman said: “It is very inappropriate, and I think he has realised that, too. He is such a big role model and he can have a positive impact on society. He should be conscious of that at all times.”
England defender Alex Greenwood added: “I only saw the incident this morning, but from what I know, he is a massive role model within the sport. If he looks back at it, he will be really disappointed with what he did.”
