Mary Earps on the bench! England star out of Lionesses' line-up for the first time in over a year as Sarina Wiegman rewards Hannah Hampton for excellent Chelsea form in Austria clash

It's not often that Wiegman rotates her goalkeepers but she has done exactly that for England's first match of 2024, rewarding Chelsea shot-stopper Hannah Hampton for her good form at club level by granting her just her third start for the Lionesses in Friday's friendly.

Speaking to ITV about the decision to play Hampton over Earps, Wiegman said: "This is an opportunity to show herself. She has done well at Chelsea. We know Mary is our No.1 goalkeeper but we need to have an option when something is happening with Mary, [to know] Hannah is ready to go. I think she can show that tonight."

England take on Austria and Italy in the February international break in what will be their only friendlies all year, with the rest of their matches to be qualifiers for the 2025 European Championships. It's the perfect time for Wiegman to try out new things and get a look at different players, then, with Maya Le Tissier and Esme Morgan also in Friday's starting XI alongside Grace Clinton, who will make her senior debut for the Lionesses.

Earps' well-earned rest snaps a 17-game streak when it comes to England starts, with the Manchester United star having kept six clean sheets in that time. The last time she was on the bench was for the Lionesses' Arnold Clark Cup meeting with Italy on February 19, 2023.

Earps will hope to enjoy her viewpoint from the bench and watch her England team-mates kick off the year with a win, while she'll no doubt hope to pull her country's colours on again on Tuesday when they take on Italy.