Hannah Hampton will miss the friendly between England and Brazil due to an elbow injury

BURTON UPON TRENT, ENGLAND

England will be without their Women’s European Championship goalkeeping hero Hannah Hampton for Saturday’s friendly against Brazil in Manchester, with head coach Sarina Wiegman confirming she has suffered a minor elbow injury.

While the 24-year-old Chelsea keeper remains in camp and could still feature against Australia in Derby on Tuesday, she will not be available for the Lionesses’ first match since their thrilling European Championship win.

Her absence opens the door for a debutant between the posts. Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse and late caller Sophie Baggaley are all in contention to start.

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Keating, born in Manchester and playing for Manchester City, would be a sentimental choice.

“I have made the decision,” Wiegman said at the pre-match press conference on Friday. “But as always, we have to get through this (last training) session and then I will of course inform the team first before I inform (the media).”

Hampton replaced Mary Earps as the country’s No. 1 ahead of the Women’s European Championship, where her penalty-kicking heroics helped England to victory and saw her win the Best Female Goalkeeper award at this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.

England will also play friendlies against China and Ghana this year ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

«I think it’s very good that we have four friendly matches in recent months,» Wiegman said.

«What you also want to do is try new things, see players, see different combinations. So that is a huge opportunity. That is of course also necessary because we have some injuries.»

The Lionesses will learn who they will face in their World Cup qualifiers on November 4, with qualifying running from February to December 2026.

Published on October 24, 2025