Lauren James, Alessia Russo & five selection dilemmas England boss Sarina Wiegman must solve ahead of the Lionesses' Women's World Cup send-off

One of the most interesting areas of Wiegman’s XI on Saturday will be in the heart of defence. Not only does she need to replace Leah Williamson, her captain, in there after an ACL injury in April, but also Millie Bright. The Chelsea star is in the World Cup squad but will not be fit for this fixture as she continues to rehab after knee surgery. It means there will be another opportunity handed out to someone at centre-back in Milton Keynes, then.

It’s largely expected that Alex Greenwood will partner with Bright for the World Cup. The duo had an excellent partnership in the build-up to last summer’s Euros until Williamson was moved back from midfield to play alongside Bright as the tournament neared. There’s clear confidence within the camp that the two can pick up that strong link again this summer.

But should Bright, set to skipper England in Australia in Williamson’s absence, not be fit enough to start the World Cup campaign, who would step in for her? It’s not clear what the pecking order looks like beyond Bright and Greenwood, but it’s likely a few hints will be given by Saturday’s team selection.

The biggest head-scratcher for Wiegman across her entire tenure as England boss has concerned the left-back spot. There’s a real lack of options in this position in the Lionesses’ player pool.

It looked like she had cracked it in February. Greenwood used to play on the left side of defence in years gone by, and Wiegman started her in the role again for two of England’s Arnold Clark Cup matches. However, the injury to Williamson means the Manchester City defender is now needed centrally instead, reopening the dilemma.

Rachel Daly played at left-back during the Euros campaign, but she has just scored 22 goals in 22 league games for Aston Villa as a striker, earning her more opportunities up top for her country as a result.

Jess Carter, Niamh Charles and Esme Morgan are all versatile players who can assume the role, with Charles operating in it a lot for Chelsea this past season, while Carter was Wiegman’s choice there for both of England’s games in April.

Despite openly talking about how difficult it is to play in the position for England because it's not one she plays often for club, it does look like Carter will be Wiegman’s choice at left-back. Saturday will give the biggest indicator yet of whether that will indeed be the case.

One of the most competitive areas of England’s team is out wide. On the right, it feels like Lauren James and Chloe Kelly are competing for a starting berth, with Katie Robinson, the 20-year-old Brighton forward, likely to assume a super-sub role.

Kelly was tasked with the latter at the Euros last summer, and she would emerge as the hero in the final, scoring the extra-time winner at Wembley as England defeated Germany to lift the title. A year on, with Mead’s absence factored in, she’s edged more and more towards a starting role. She goes into the World Cup with momentum, too, having ended the season in flying form.

James, meanwhile, started her second season with Chelsea with a bang, hardly putting a foot wrong after spending her first campaign at the club getting on top of niggling injuries. It was form she also took into the international windows, making a strong case to be a starter with her performances in November and February, in particular.

However, her minutes were managed a little more as the season came to its end. Whether for tactical reasons or just to ensure she didn’t pick up any injuries after a much more demanding season, the 21-year-old was on the bench for both legs of Chelsea’s Women’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, for example.

While extremely talented, it was a reminder that James is still new to the highest level. She’s still only got 10 caps for her country and only made her debut last September. It will be interesting, then, to see whether she becomes another option off the bench this summer. She’ll certainly be a dangerous one if so.

Without a doubt the biggest question surrounding Wiegman’s first choice XI regards the centre-forward role. Having been an impact player at the Euros, scoring four goals in six appearances from the bench, Alessia Russo has been the main striker for England since Ellen White’s retirement last summer.

However, that position has been under threat in recent months. While Russo ended the WSL season with 10 goals to her name, Daly scored an incredible 22 in 22 outings, earning herself a shot as the Lionesses’ No.9 in the November and February camps as a result – scoring on both occasions.

There has also been recent competition from Beth England, who scored 12 goals in 12 games after joining Tottenham in January. That form allowed her to sneak into the World Cup squad at the last moment, having not been called up since September.

Can Wiegman possibly overlook Daly in her form? Or will she stick with Russo?

While Lauren Hemp’s position on the left wing feels pretty nailed down, we could well see a little bit more rotation from Wiegman for this World Cup compared to last summer’s Euros. Given the distance that will have to be travelled, the fact there is an extra game in this tournament and the competition for places, it may well be that the coach opts to change her wingers at points in the summer instead of sticking with the same starting XI all the way through again.

At the Olympics, her last tournament as Netherlands boss, Wiegman did rest star striker Vivianne Miedema for a group-stage game, and at the 2019 World Cup, she changed her forward line ahead of the semi-finals, so it’s not out of the question for her to make changes.

Kelly put in a couple of impressive showings from the left at the Arnold Clark Cup in February, bagging a brace against Belgium and netting against South Korea from there. Her and James worked well as a wide duo, too, often switching sides throughout the game when they felt it could help England get more joy.

Perhaps that might be a combination we see from the start in Australia, giving Hemp the chance to rest. It’s likely we’ll see who her first-choice wingers will be on Saturday, though.

Several positions are nailed on in this England team. Mary Earps will be the Lionesses’ starting goalkeeper, with Lucy Bronze at right-back and Bright, if fit, to start in the centre.

It’s very likely that her partner will be Greenwood, and that is the strongest partnership available. The pair complement each other very well and bring a right-foot, left-foot combination that any team playing out from the back desires.

The problem is that their partnership then robs Wiegman of her most dependable left-back option. It could be argued that Daly is second on that list but it makes little-to-no sense to play her in defence at this point.

Charles, then, would be the player that has played at left-back the most this season – but Carter has been Wiegman’s more frequent choice. Picking between them is like splitting hairs because neither are naturals in the role. It’s definitely England’s area of weakness.

The midfield has picked itself for the past year – Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway joined by Ella Toone in the absence of Kirby. Up top, Kelly and Hemp represent England’s best combination of wingers, with James and Robinson both valuable assets on the bench.

As for the starting striker? You can’t ignore Daly in her form. She’s the deadliest striker of the bunch right now and deserves to start – and, after all, letting Russo revive her super-sub role from last summer wouldn’t be the worst move.