Britain's Mimi Rhodes and Ireland's Leona Maguire have received wildcard picks for Europe's Solheim Cup team to face the United States in the Netherlands next month, as captain Anna Nordqvist backed both fresh talent and proven match-play pedigree BBC Sport.

The picks carry risk. Maguire has missed the cut in four of her last six tournaments, including the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes — the cut being the score that decides who plays the weekend — and has slipped to 79th in the world rankings. Rhodes, 24 and making her Solheim Cup debut at 92nd in the world, arrived at selection having failed to reach the weekend in four consecutive events before a tie for 51st at the Scottish Open.

Nordqvist's faith in Maguire rests on a formidable Solheim Cup record. In her debut five years ago, the Irishwoman collected four and a half points from five — the kind of dominant performance that sticks in a captain's memory. Her overall record reads eight wins, one halved match and three defeats across 12 appearances. A top-10 finish at the recent Scottish Open offered a timely reminder that form can turn quickly.

Rhodes, by contrast, has never played in a Solheim Cup. She starred for Great Britain and Ireland in their 2024 Curtis Cup victory at Sunningdale — the amateur team event between Britain and Ireland and the United States — before turning professional and collecting three victories on the Ladies European Tour. Her selection rewards a player who has won as a pro inside two years.

Two more rookies joined them. Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain, 23 and in her debut LET season, and France's Nastasia Nadaud both received wildcard calls despite sitting outside the world's top 80. Nadaud, though, made the cut in all five majors in 2026 and won the season-ending Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana last year to earn her LPGA card. Lopez Ramirez is in her second season on the LPGA Tour.

The automatic qualifiers offer a steadier spine. Farnham's Lottie Woad secured her place as a debutant, joining England's Charley Hull and Women's Open runner-up Esther Henseleit, who qualified through the LET Solheim Cup points list. The Swedish pair of Maja Stark and Linn Grant complete the known European side.

Europe is chasing the trophy back after defeat in Virginia two years ago. The 2026 edition runs September 7-13 at Bernardus Golf in Cromvoirt, near Eindhoven in the Netherlands Solheim Cup. The Solheim Cup — the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup, matching Europe against the United States in team match play — has produced tight finishes before. The 2019 contest at Gleneagles was decided by a single birdie putt on the final hole.

What makes this European team intriguing is the balance Nordqvist has struck. Four wildcard rookies, none in the world's top 80, sit alongside a battler in Maguire whose recent results would have made selection easy to refuse. The captain is betting that match-play nerve matters more than stroke-play form — and that a player who has delivered under Solheim Cup pressure before can do it again, regardless of what the rankings say.