Sarina Wegman: Lionesses received safety guarantees in Türkiye

England have been assured there are no safety concerns over the Women’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine being held in Turkey as the conflict expands in the Middle East, England national team manager Sarina Wigman said.

The Lionesses will play in Antalya at 17:00 GMT on Tuesday because Ukraine is unable to play in its homeland as a result of the war with Russia, which has entered its fifth year.

On Saturday, the United States attacked Iran as part of a joint operation with Israel, sparking retaliatory strikes across the Middle East.

The Iranian regime responded with attacks on US assets and countries in the region with a US military presence, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq.

Türkiye borders Iran and Iraq and is close to Cyprus, where an Iranian drone crashed at a British Royal Air Force base on Sunday. Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon also exchanged blows.

“Yes, we got assurances. We are in close contact with the government and the people in charge here,” Wegman said.

“We are fine here but we are monitoring the matter. We are in contact all the time with the responsible authorities.

“Of course, you are concerned about what is happening in the world. When we think, or our government thinks, that the situation is unsafe, we will return. At this moment, we have no signs of that.”

England traveled to Turkey last Wednesday for a training camp, but it is unclear how many fans will attend the match following the weekend’s developments, with some fans and several media outlets already opting out.

The fact that Ukraine had to host the match in Türkiye due to conflict in its homeland after the Russian invasion is “really sad,” Wegman says.

“We have great facilities here and the climate is really good so we can prepare well. But the reason we are here is not good,” she added.

“You want Ukraine to be able to play in their home country. They had to travel a lot to get here. The things they have in front of them in their country are really terrible.

“We hope this game will come together a little bit. It’s an opportunity for Ukraine to show itself to the world in another way where we hope it will unite football and bring some happiness,” he added.