England's new puzzle piece.should fit for Portugal clash

The art of mastering the role of the box-to-box midfielder is often down to timing. With Georgia Stanway set to be sidelined for England's Nations League campaign, and facing a race to be fit for the opening game of the Euros in July, a place in Sarina Wiegman's starting lineup is up for grabs for the foreseeable future.

- JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

Crashing the penalty area with a late run ahead of the Euros appears to be Grace Clinton, who has started games for the Lionesses in front of Stanway and Keira Walsh as a No 10 but now looks to be an ideal candidate to feature in central midfield. Wiegman likes Clinton’s versatility and believes the 21-year-old can play as an eight as well as 10.

The loss of Stanway, who is set to miss “several months” after undergoing knee surgery, leaves the England manager with a “puzzle” that she has rarely had to consider ahead of facing Portugal in the Algarve tonight and world champions Spain at Wembley next week. When fit, Stanway is as close to an automatic selection as anyone in the England side. The Bayern Munich midfielder has started 16 of England’s 18 fixtures since the World Cup, more than any other player, and her bustling energy in midfield has been a near constant during what has been an otherwise inconsistent spell of results.