Wiegman expects Kelly and Mead to add 'quality' to England squad

Sarina Wiegman says the inclusion of Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead in England's squad will provide even more quality against Belgium in the Women's Nations League.

Kelly, who is now on loan at Arsenal from Manchester City, was not named in the initial Lionesses squad for the February internationals due to a lack of playing time but was eventually called up to replace Mead, who had dropped out through injury.

The 27-year-old has seen more minutes since rejoining her former club, playing in five of Arsenal’s six games in all competitions.

And Wiegman believes their Arsenal link can benefit England as she aims to find a way to open up Belgium’s defence.

"[They bring] quality. What you see at Arsenal is they swap around a bit," Wiegman said.

"They are totally different wing players, so they bring something different, which helps the team.

"That's what I expect with those two, that we have opportunities up front that we can use and harm the opponent.

"It's important because you get in a rhythm. What we want is she [Kelly] shows her qualities, and she's at her best because it will help the team.

"You need the minutes, and you can tell she's enjoying it now."

England host Belgium at Ashton Gate in the first of their two Group A3 matches on April 4, with the return leg in Leuven on April 8.

The Lionesses are currently second in the group behind Portugal, who they drew 1-1 with during the last international break before they earned an impressive 1-0 win over world champions Spain.

And Wiegman believes that result was the confidence boost they needed after a difficult run of form.

"I think a lot of confidence, we showed we are still a top team," she said of the win against Spain.

"We had a bit of disappointment against Portugal, but I think tactically they did a couple of things really well, and we had to adapt to that.

"That was a different game. In between these games, we had some team meetings and conversations, and you could see and feel on the pitch we fought for this win.

"We knew it was a very competitive game because Spain are the world champions, so that brings confidence to the team.

"Belgium will give us different challenges and we have to adapt again. It's going to be two tough games, but we're looking forward to meeting up with the team again."

Wiegman also weighed in on the recent examples of poor-quality pitches, which have raised the issue of standards in the women's game.

There was criticism of the playing surface at Pride Park during the Women’s League Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City earlier this month, with Erin Cuthbert saying it was "unfit for a final".

Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid also brought the problem to light as the rain-sodden surface was called a "disgrace" by Ian Wright.

The game was held at Madrid’s reserves stadium, the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, despite the Santiago Bernabeu being available.

"It's really disappointing. You would hope they would be playing [Champions League matches] in the Bernabeu," Wiegman said.

"You want better pitches. It's a little bit dangerous, too. We have to keep working on these things. Players deserve to show their performances at the highest level and take away the risks of injury."