Captain Mary Earps! England boss Sarina Wiegman names Man Utd shot stopper in key leadership call for Netherlands clash in absence of Millie Bright

Chelsea skipper Bright pulled out of England's Nations League fixtures against the Dutch and Scotland due to a knee injury and is remaining with the Blues for treatment.

Ahead of Friday's clash against group leaders Netherlands, manager Wiegman revealed United star Earps, who recently became the first keeperin history to win the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award, will wear the captain's armband for the Wembley fixture.

Wiegman told reporters: "She [Bright] wasn't available for Chelsea before, so we knew. We always know what our next step is, we're always thinking of scenarios when someone is not available. Mary [Earps] will captain the team tomorrow."

England are third in Group A1 and must beat the Dutch if they are to have a chance of winning the group and progressing to next year's finals. A win would see them draw level on nine points with the Netherlands; with Belgium, who beat England 3-2 last time out, second in the group with seven points.

If England come third in the group, they will go into the pot of teams in the relegation play-offs to see if they stay in the top group. They round off their group campaign away to Scotland on December 5.

After these Nations League matches, England won't be in international action again until 2024. The Nations League Finals will take place in February of next year.