England star Missy Bo Kearns and boyfriend - who is also a professional footballer - announce pregnancy as Lionesses Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo & more share excitement about news

Kearns made the news public on Sunday evening, posting a video on Instagram that saw her and her boyfriend, Luton Town midfielder Liam Walsh, paint the words 'mum and dad, Sept 26' on a wall in their home while also revealing pictures of the baby from a recent scan. The comments were soon flooded with messages from England stars, team-mates past and present and many others sending their well wishes to the couple, with Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead, Ella Toone, Lauren James, Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly among those to share their excitement.

Asked about the news on Monday, speaking in her press conference ahead of England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman added her own words of congratulations for Kearns. "Of course, I'm happy for her. It's great news," she said. "Of course, we said she's not available for this camp, so now that's clear [why]. I'm very happy for her, for them. I think she's doing well. Of course, I haven't seen her lately but I've spoken to her. I hope all things go well. It's another amazing period for her coming up."

Georgia Stanway, joining Wiegman for the press conference, shared that excitement of having a little Lioness around the camp in the future. "It's something that we've never really experienced before, so it'll be new, but it'll be really cool. A little distraction."

It will be a new thing for this generation of England players. There have been players in the past who have had children while representing the Lionesses and it is something that has become very normal for nations like the United States, whose 2023 Women's World Cup squad included three mothers in Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Crystal Dunn. But Katie Chapman, the now-retired former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder who last represented England in 2026, was the most recent example of a Lioness to return to playing for her country after giving birth, with Kearns now potentially set to do similar many years later.

Kearns has every chance following in Chapman's footsteps by playing at a World Cup as a mother, too, with her due date a good nine months before the 2027 tournament will get underway in Brazil. A regular in England's youth teams, the Aston Villa star has steadily grown into the senior picture in recent times, making her Lionesses debut in June of last year - in a clash with world champions Spain, no less.

She wouldn't make the cut for the squad for the European Championships, which took place a few weeks later, but she was named on standby for the tournament and after it had finished, Kearns added to her sole England cap with two more appearances before the end of 2025, in friendlies against Australia and Ghana.

The Lionesses are not blessed with tons of depth in midfield. Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway have the two deeper spots in the middle of the park nailed down, with Ella Toone a regular in a No.10 role that players such as Lauren James and Jess Park can also occupy. But there is not much in the way of back-up to Walsh and Stanway, with Kearns and her Villa team-mate Lucia Kendall among those to emerge as potential depth pieces there in recent times.

For now, Kearns' focus will be on this exciting new chapter in her life. She'll miss the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign, which gets underway against Ukraine on Tuesday, and the rest of Villa's 2025-26 season as she prepares to welcome her first child. And when she looks at returning to the pitch, there are plenty more exciting chapters that she could write, too, with a little one in tow.