Inside The Lionesses

Impetus’ Freya Ward was at St. George’s Park to observe England training and then joined the media conference with Rachel Daly (20/9/23).

Above: Rachel Daly (left) who spoke to the media from St. George’s Park, photographed at a pre-World Cup training session. Photo: Ben Phillips for Impetus.

The Lionesses have regrouped at St. George’s Park after a memorable summer where they just fell at the last hurdle losing 1-0 to Spain in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. 

A squad of 21 were out in full training yesterday with Alex Greenwood and Laura Coombs both working independently inside, reportedly “to manage their load.” Other absentees from the session were the Arsenal duo of Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben Moy, with Russo meeting up with the squad today and Wubben Moy withdrawing due to a minor injury having already been replaced by Aston Villa’s summer signing Lucy Parker who has joined up with the squad and is in full training. 

The squad seemed eager for their new challenge ahead on Friday where they will be playing Scotland in their opening Nations League game at a sold-out Stadium of Light in Sunderland, just over a month after the World Cup Final

When Rachel Daly was asked for her opinion on the very tight turnaround from the Australia, she said “We’re footballers, it’s our job.” The Aston Villa star did mention that she does think the international calendar is playing its part in the injury epidemic in the women’s game and that ultimately this does need to be re-evaluated in the near future. 

In other news, Mary Earps, the Lionesses’ saving grace this summer, was awarded the England Women’s Player of The Year award after having a phenomenal period in between the sticks both internationally and domestically for Manchester United. This achievement is even more outstanding given Earps’ thoughts of retiring from international football just a couple of years ago.

Reflecting on the influence of the England shot-stopper, Daly told the media: “Mary has been key to us for ages” which just really emphasises how important Sarina Weigman’s belief in the number one has been.

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