When the Lionesses face China at Wembley on 29th November, England fans will be able to say goodbye to the players who have recently retired from International football. This will be the first game at home at Wembley Stadium they have played since they made their announcement, and the FA wants these players to receive a splendid send-off at their home stadium.
The players who were given their final goodbyes were Fran Kirby, who retired before the Euros after being informed she would not be selected, and who had already decided to retire after the Euros anyway, so brought it forward knowing she would not be in Switzerland.
The FA confirmed plans in October 2025 to pay tribute to players who recently retired from international duty. The ceremonial send-off will happen during England's friendly match against China at Wembley. This is part of the "Homecoming Series" of matches celebrating the Lionesses' Euro 2025 win. The event will also recognise other retirees, including goalkeeper Mary Earps and vice-captain Millie Bright.
Mary Earps ended her England career on 27 May 2025 with 53 senior caps, saying, "This is the right time for me to step aside and allow the younger generation to thrive." This happened just three days before the country faced Portugal in the Nations League, in a dramatic form that came with its own speculation and drama about why she retired, and why just months before an international tournament.
The bright and talented Kirby was ‘promised’ a send-off to mark an era-defining England career. However, the date in question, which is England's only scheduled game at Wembley at the moment, does not work for Earp's schedule. England's match against China was announced at the end of July, just four months after England won the back-to-back Euros, and six months after she announced her retirement.
The rumours are that the PSG goalkeeper had declined a FA invitation to hold the tribute at this game, with others speculating that the date did not work for Earp.s
The rumours continue to say talks remain ongoing between the two parties to find a suitable date to honour her achievements as a lioness.
Her career for England has not always been smooth sailing. She was the third-choice goalkeeper behind Karen Bardsley and Carly Telford at the 2019 World Cup, having played little football that season at Wolfsburg.
However, her move back to the WSL, which coincided with her being named England's No.1 keeper in the autumn of 2021, repaid that faith with exceptional performances in the journey to the Euro Champions in 2022 and also in the World Cup final in 2023. of 2021 and repaid that faith with exceptional performance in the journey to Euro Champions in 2022 and also in the World Cup final in 2023.
However, when she left United at the end of the 2023/24 season to join PSG, she was not used as much for England and was again out of favour. If she had stayed at United, we might have a different story to tell.
Earps, who retired with 53 caps to her name but was criticised for the timing of it after already losing her starting place to Hannah Hampton, also made a difference off the pitch, publicly fighting Nike in 2023 after replicas of her England goalkeeper jersey initially weren't made available for fans to buy.
Since her move to PSG, where she had hoped to win regular major silverware, they were swiftly eliminated from the Champions League. They were starting less frequently, not performing at the standards she had been accustomed to in England and at Manchester United in the past.
Hampton's emergence as a very credible successor and Earps no longer performing at her 2022 and 2023 peak perhaps accelerated her decision to retire internationally.
All of that made it surprising for fans to then see her name on the list of players nominated this week for 2025's FIFPro World XI, chosen by players from all over the world but questionably ahead of arguably more deserving but less high profile individuals like Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Cata Coll and Chiamka Nnadozie who played for games, and also played for their international side and had a bigger impact on both club and countries.
For example Cata Coll made it to the Euros and Champions league final with Barcelona and Spain. Phallon Tullis-Joyce an FA Cup final for Manchester United joint WSL golden Glove in the 2024/25 season with 13 alongside Hannah Hampton. Named the club's player player for 2024/25 was in the PFA team of the year. Chiamka Nnadozie won the 2025 Coupe de France Feminine with Paris FC Feminines by defeating PSG on penalties with her saving two in the shootout, a game Mary Earps did not win. Reportedly in the 2024/25 season she had two clean sheets and conceded 13 goals in 13 matches.
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