Ella Toone has received a late call into the England squad for this month’s Women’s World Cup play-off ties against Greece.

Manchester United midfielder Toone, and Arsenal winger Chloe Kelly, were omitted from the initial squad with manager Sarina Wiegman saying “they have not played to their potential in my opinion in the last couple of weeks”.

Toone has scored 24 goals in 69 senior England appearances, winning Euro 2022 and Euro 2025 as well as starting in England’s 2023 World Cup final defeat by Spain.

Toone said after being left out of the squad: “It’s been a really difficult week. It’s not the news that any footballer wants.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze has left the squad and will return to her club to manage a minor injury sustained in league action last weekend against West Ham.

The Lionesses arrived in Crete on Wednesday evening to prepare for Friday’s first leg against Greece at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion.

The second leg takes place at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium on Tuesday, 13 October.

The winners face either Slovakia or Ukraine on 26 November and 5 December in a two-legged play-off to decide which team progresses to next year’s Women’s World Cup, which is being held in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July.

England will host the Netball World Cup for the fourth time in 2031.

The quadrennial tournament will be held at Manchester’s Co-op Live indoor arena, World Netball and England Netball announced on Thursday.

Liverpool staged the event when England last hosted in 2019.

World Netball president Liz Nicholl said: “After reviewing their strong bid, I am confident England Netball will host another thrilling international event, and I am excited to see what we can achieve together in 2031 and beyond.”

Eastbourne put on the inaugural tournament in 1963, with Birmingham staging the 1995 edition.

England reached a World Cup final for the first time in 2023, but the Roses were denied a first title by 12-time winners Australia in Cape Town.

England also finished as runners-up in 1975, when the tournament was contested in a league format.

Baroness Sue Campbell, chair of England Netball, said: “To have the best netball players in the world coming to Manchester is a hugely exciting prospect, and I know the city will give them the welcome they deserve.

“This is a fantastic opportunity not only to showcase our sport on the biggest stage, but also to inspire the next generation of players and fans.”

England Netball chief executive Fran Connolly said the tournament would provide “a powerful platform to grow the visibility, profile and impact of women’s sport and netball across the UK”.

The announcement comes in England Netball’s centenary year.

The Co-op Live arena hosted this year’s Netball Super League Grand Final between AO Thunder and London Pulse, which was played in front of more than 8,000 fans.

Live Subtitles to be available across all Sky Sports Premier League matches, while Live Descriptive Audio Commentary will be introduced on selected fixtures throughout the season.

As an extension of Guinness’ existing Sky Sports Premier League sponsorship, Sky Sports and Guinness are launching a major new accessibility initiative that will make Premier League coverage more accessible for blind, partially sighted and hard-of-hearing fans.

Beginning on Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11 with the Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool vs Manchester City games, viewers will be able to access Live Subtitles across all Premier League matches broadcast on Sky Sports’ main channels, alongside Live Descriptive Audio Commentary on selected Premier League fixtures throughout the season.

The initiative represents the biggest accessibility rollout across Sky Sports platforms to date and has been developed to help more fans enjoy live football together, whether watching at home, with family and friends, or in social settings.

What is Live Descriptive Audio Commentary?

Live Descriptive Audio Commentary has been developed specifically for football supporters with sight loss.

Unlike traditional Audio Description, which adds occasional explanations to television content, the new service provides a continuous description of the match action, closer to the style of traditional radio commentary.

The enhanced commentary feed helps supporters follow the movement of play, key moments, atmosphere, off-pitch surroundings and on-pitch action as it unfolds, creating a richer and more immersive live football experience.

Feedback has been gathered from representative users, accessibility specialists, Sky Access Services and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

RNIB has played a key role throughout the development process, helping shape the final service to ensure it reflects the needs and expectations of blind and partially sighted supporters.

Live Subtitles across every front-channel Premier League match

Alongside Descriptive Audio Commentary, Live Subtitles will be available across all front-channel Premier League matches shown on Sky Sports.

The service will allow viewers to follow live commentary, analysis and on-screen dialogue in real time, helping make coverage more accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.

Together, the two services mark a significant step forward in making live sport more accessible to a wider audience.

How to access the services

Accessing both services is fully integrated into the viewing experience and can be enabled in just a few steps.

To switch on Live Descriptive Audio Commentary:

• Use Sky Voice Control
• Navigate to Settings > Accessibility
• Select the service from the on-screen options menu during the match

To switch on Live Subtitles:

• Open the on-screen options menu
• Visit Settings > Accessibility on your device

The services will be available across:

• Sky+
• Sky Q
• Sky Glass
• Sky Stream
• NOW
• Sky Sports on Virgin Media

Making football more accessible for everyone

The partnership reflects a shared ambition from Sky Sports and Guinness 0.0 to help make football accessible to as many supporters as possible.

By introducing both Live Subtitles and Live Descriptive Audio Commentary across Premier League coverage, the initiative aims to enhance the experience for blind, partially sighted and hard-of-hearing fans, while ensuring live football remains a shared experience that can be enjoyed together.

Fans can check via Sky if a match has Descriptive Audio Commentary available by simply opening your TV Guide and scrolling to the programme. The AD logo will appear alongside the title, and a short beep will also sound to indicate that the feature is available.