• Manager intends to name party of 23 by the end of April • Canada and Spain friendlies give fringe players their chance

Phil Neville intends to name his England Women squad for the World Cup by the end of the month and is in effect holding final auditions for places during the friendlies against Canada and Spain.

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The manager has increased the central player pool to 30 but there are seats for only 23 on the plane to Nice in June, leaving Neville with a few dilemmas.

“The players know they’re in the final straight towards the World Cup,” he said. “They’ve got the final selection coming up in the next three to four weeks and they’re fighting for places, so there’s no complacency whatsoever.

“Nobody has been told they are in the squad yet, nobody is complacent or confident or booking flights for their families or anything. I’ve made sure of that. There is competition.”

Although Neville has picked only 25 players for the games against Canada at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium on Friday and Spain in Swindon the following Tuesday, he is adamant the door is not closed to those on the fringes. “There’s probably three or four on the outskirts still in my plans and there are places to fight for,” he said. “You’re going to get injuries, so there’s always a chance for players like Hannah Blundell, like Beth England, who are still in my thoughts.”

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It would be a shock if the Chelsea playmaker Fran Kirby failed to make the cut but she will not be involved in the next two games after being sent home from England’s training camp at St George’s Park nursing what the FA termed “knee pain, requiring careful management”.

Her place has been filled by Manchester City’s Gemma Bonner but Neville will be anxiously awaiting updates from Chelsea’s medical team as Kirby is a potential star of France 2019 who could be integral to England’s chances of success.

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The surprise is that she has been replaced by a defender rather than England, her fellow Chelsea forward. “Beth’s been so unlucky, she’s just got to keep doing what she’s been doing and I’ve told her that a few times,” Neville said. “Aoife Mannion [the Birmingham defender] is so unlucky too – and Hannah Blundell [the Chelsea defender]. Their problem is the other players in their positions are playing really well. It’s a nice problem for me.

“But these [fringe] players have all got age on their side and, even though they’re not in the squad now, they’re part of the England DNA. Lauren Hemp [the Manchester City forward] is back with the under-19s after impressing in the SheBelieves Cup but we’re monitoring her.

“The [established] players probably don’t enjoy the fact we’ve got 30 in the pool now but it’s keeping their performance levels high.”

England have joined Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in signing three-year partnership deals with Boots UK, understood to rank among the largest women’s sport sponsorship agreements in Britain and Ireland.

Brighton women to play Arsenal at the Amex Stadium

The day after Phil Neville urged top clubs in England to “throw open” their stadiums for women’s teams, Brighton said their final fixture of the WSL season will be played at the Amex Stadium. Manchester City and Manchester United are also understood to be considering hosting women’s games at the Etihad and Old Trafford but that it is not logistically possible to do so this season.