Ella Toone, Chloe Kelly and the Lionesses regulars who must use international break disappointment as World Cup wake-up calls or risk missing out on England's summer squad

Easily the most confusing case of the four is that of Kelly. When she was left out of the England squad, Wiegman said she wasn't performing well enough, Kelly's representatives told The Athletic she had an injury and Arsenal boss Renee Slegers' comments on the situation sat somewhere in the middle. "She's had some issues with her hamstring," the Gunners' manager said. "Nothing we could see from an injury perspective."

Whatever the situation is, it's clear that Kelly, who has missed Arsenal's last two games, has to get back out on the pitch and perform. She admitted herself in the summer that she was disappointed that she couldn't deliver more last season, in her first full campaign back at Arsenal, with it not since the European Championship in 2025 that she really set things alight.

But her contributions at that tournament were title-winning, continuing on from an electric run of form at Arsenal in the months prior which helped the Gunners win the Champions League. That came after a real spell of doubt as her Manchester City career came to a conclusion. So can Kelly respond to this spell of doubt in a similar fashion?

Adding to it all is the intrigue around Wiegman's decision to switch to a wing-back system in this last international break, one which Kelly doesn't naturally fit into. Whether this becomes a regular formation may dictate her immediate international future.

What that change of formation also did was allow Wiegman to take a look at a lot of different midfielders as it was a shape that asked two to sit a little deeper and more central, while two more operated in the channels to support Alessia Russo. Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Laura Blindkilde Brown all got game time, while Lexi Potter and Erica Parkinson were handed debuts, only increasing the competition for places in the centre of the pitch.

On the one hand, extra spaces in midfield is good news for Toone and Clinton, who missed out on the initial squad but were called-up as injury replacements later on, as it means an expanded path back into the team. However, on the other, the extra competition that has come from the introductions of Potter and Parkinson, plus the strides made by both Blindkilde Brown and Lucia Kendall, who missed out this week with an injury, means there are suddenly more players on that path.

If Wiegman does stick with this formation, Jess Park, Lauren James and Beth Mead would also be competing for those more advanced spots, the kind of which Toone in particular would be best-suited to. Even if this is just a shape to occasionally switch to, though, there is a lot more competition in midfield now than in years gone by.

And so the conversation goes back to form. In that sense, Toone feels much closer to a return to the squad, not just because she was called in as the first injury replacement or because of the praise given to her by Wiegman for her response to such disappointment.

Toone was an unused substitute in Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Arsenal in September, with new head coach Eva Olid favouring a more defensive approach after a rough start to the season. However, the 27-year-old has been regularly involved since, and that United are improving bodes well, especially with Toone a key starter. "We can work together to help her be there again," Olid said in response to the midfielder's initial omission from Wiegman's plans, and the path back feels quite clear for her.

For Clinton, however, there is more room for doubt. Since swapping the red of Manchester United for the blue of Man City in the summer of 2025, she has struggled with niggles, an inability to grasp opportunities when fit and high competition for places in the Cityzens' team. Finding a way into the line-up has to come first, with her only start so far this season coming in the league win over Charlton Athletic.

City head coach Andree Jeglertz expressed real belief in Clinton in the summer and excitement over what her second season at the club will look like. "I trust a lot in her," he told GOAL. "But we need consistency from her." She needs it from herself, too, if she is to be on that plane to Brazil next summer, presuming England secure qualification against Ukraine in December.

Then there is Aggie Beever-Jones. The Chelsea striker hasn't started the season in great form and is without a competitive goal since March, in the League Cup final. She's had her niggles too, though Wiegman confirmed on Tuesday that she was not left out of the squad because of injury, but rather because she needs to "perform better".

Most concerning for the 23-year-old will be that the England boss was happy to omit her and name a squad in which Russo was the only recognised striker. "I chose Alessia and other options for a centre-forward position at this moment," Wiegman said, referring to the likes of Lauren Hemp, Mead and James, who can all play up front if required.

It's clear that Wiegman won't just call Beever-Jones up because she needs another striker in the squad, rather she needs to prove that she deserves to be included. Putting niggling injuries behind her to re-establish herself in the Chelsea team is the first step, then it's about putting the ball in the back of the net.

She'll get her opportunities from Blues boss Sonia Bompastor but - like Toone, Kelly and Clinton - Beever-Jones has to take them if she wants to be in England's squad for the World Cup.