Lionesses legend tips duo to be World Cup stars for England who could 'fall short'

Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses are looking to add another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet - having won the European Championships on home turf last summer - but their squad has been blighted by injury ahead of the tournament.

Star forward Beth Mead, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson and midfielder Fran Kirby have all be ruled out of the World Cup, while Millie Bright hasn't played since March following knee surgery.

Without those three key players, the Lionesses have struggled in their last two games, drawing 0-0 with Portugal at Milton Keynes before flying out to the World Cup and they also slipped to their first defeat under Wiegman against Australia in April.

As such, England's record caps holder Williams fears the Lionesses may struggle to make it past the quarter-finals and says France are the ones to watch before the tournament kicks off.

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Asked who could be a contender going into this summer's World Cup, Williams exclusively told talkSPORT: "France. I think they're a big underdog. No one is talking about them. I think they're a talented group of players. I think with the new manager, that has helped the environment.

"I've always felt like the French are full of talent and never delivered, whether that be the World or European stage and given the fact Lyon, for many years, have dominated European football.

"With the right environment created - and I think [Herve] Renard has done that with this team in a short space of time - they could be an underdog. If they get it right off the pitch, they could be a real threat on it.

"I think we [England] are a little bit depleted. Fran Kirby [is injured] and I think England have lacked that little bit of creativity without her in the team. It's been evident I think.

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"Obviously, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead [are out], another two key players to the squad, and Millie Bright is fighting fitness; she won't have had that much gametime going into the tournament and she's key [as] she's our captain for the tournament.

"They're not just squad players. They're three key starting players within the spine of the team in my opinion and they'll be huge losses to the group.

"I think it will be a tougher task for us this year and I think the expectation and pressure now from the media will be even bigger than it was last year.

"I don't think there was much pressure on the Lionesses to go and win the home tournament [last year]. I think there's lots of things that make it more difficult to go and win this year.

"But look, I'm a big England fan and I hope we can go all the way. But, I think, realistically, quarter-finals is where I see the Lionesses falling a bit short."

Williams was speaking to talkSPORT courtesy of LiveScore and the former England midfielder will be writing a weekly column on the LiveScore App throughout the Women's World Cup.

One player the 39-year-old will be hoping to write plenty about during the tournament is midfielder Keira Walsh, who Williams feels will be key to the Lionesses chances of going the distance in Australia and New Zealand.

"The breakout star will potentially be Lauren James. She's never been to a tournament before." Williams finished.

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"The player I'm most looking forward to [watching] is actually Keira Walsh because she's probably had the best season of her life. We saw how good she was at Man City, but I actually think this season in the Barcelona team she's gone up another level and been exciting to watch.

"I think she looks to be in the best shape I've ever seen her. As a player, she's full of confidence [from] obviously playing in the team that she does at Barca. So, I think she could be key for this Lionesses team."