Impetus had reporter Rebecca Hall and photographer Madeleine Blount at St. George’s Park today to cover the Lionesses’ media conference ahead of tomorrow’s UEFA Nations League game with Belgium at the King Power Stadium and capture today’s training (26/10/23).
Above: England head coach Sarina Wiegman at today’s media conference. Photo: Madeleine Blount for Impetus.
England boss Sarina Wiegman and Lionesses shot-stopper Mary Earps spoke to the press at today’s media conference from St. George’s Park ahead of their Nations League clash against Belgium tomorrow.
Wiegman began by discussing which players of the 25 were available. “Unfortunately, Lauren James is not fit,” after suffering a concussion she will be unavailable on Friday or Tuesday to face Belgium. Lotte Wubben-Moy suffered a minor ankle injury over the weekend during WSL action. The Arsenal player joined up with the England squad but had to initially miss full team training, however ahead of the Nations League match she returns to full training but needs to be further assessed before a call can be made on her availability.
This week a number of WSL teams and the wider England set-up have faced questions on the accessibility of the game and how the England team mirrors the society it represents. England boss, Wiegman, said she was “happy with all the things we’re doing but that doesn’t change overnight. When you start doing things really intense, it’s not going to change over a month or two months.”
Wiegman drew particular attention to the ‘Discover My Talent’ programme, which allows players from any level and background to be referred to the talent pathway, training centres, and work being done within the FA. “There is more access to football for everyone, and hopefully in the future, this will change and what we see in society… will play football and top (level) football.”
Mary Earps also shared her thoughts on the hot topic of fan and player interactions within the women’s game. “It is something we as players are experiencing in a very different way with the profile of the game-changing. We love to interact with the fans but it’s becoming at times really difficult to keep everybody happy and interact with as many people as possible.
“We’re so grateful that thousands and thousands of people want to come and meet us and talk to us, but the reality is that if that’s the expectation then we’re always going to fall short. I think the emphasis on it needs to switch now. We love that we can be so connected because of how the game has grown. But equally, I think we are subjected to a lot of comments. We love it but it’s becoming difficult to maintain.” Recently, Earps posted a message on Instagram explaining the difficulty of saying hello to every fan who is waiting after games.
Earps had kind words to share on Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating who received her first senior England call-up this week. “She’s a good person and fitted into the goalkeeper union and team really well and easily. She’s got a big bubbly personality and I’m looking forward to working with her more.” Keating joins Ellie Roebuck, Hannah Hampton, and Mary Earps in this international break’s line-up of keepers.
The press conference also coincided with Wiegman’s birthday and Earps joked that “you would not believe the party we have in store matchday minus one.”
The England boss spoke on the expectations surrounding the side saying, “We always want to win and we know the expectations are high, but we have our own expectations too. We lost our last game, and we were not happy with that and we want to bounce back. We want to improve our game and get a good result, they are the expectations.”
The Lionesses have struggled to keep clean sheets since the World Cup but Earps insisted that “a clean sheet doesn’t define a performance. There’s lots of factors that play into a performance but ultimately we know that we can be better and were always looking to improve. We know that we haven’t hit the levels we’d like to and that’s what we’re focused on doing.”
Despite a string of losses, England have a strong record against Belgium, winning their last two games. The Lionesses won 3-0 in a friendly in June 2022 and 6-1 during the Arnold Clark Cup in February 2023. Despite this, the game is expected to be more competitive given the teams are fighting for the Nation’s League and as a result Olympic qualification. “I think they are in a very different situation, playing in a different shape, they play with different players, they have been in transition. They’re very well organised and competitive,” said Wiegman.
England are looking to the future with Khiara Keating and Grace Clinton receiving their first senior call-ups, at 19 and 20 respectively, they are very much considered the new kids on the block but from training it is clear they have meshed well with the team, and are not just here to make up the numbers but to fight for minutes, which was a sentiment echoed by Wiegman who shared that “They have done really well so far.”
Earps is proudly from Nottingham and spent some of her early years in Leicester at the Centre of Excellence. The star spoke about the joy of playing, hyping up the crowd saying “Midlands massive! I have no doubt they will come out in big numbers. It’s always special to play close to home, I’ve not had the opportunity to do that yet, hopefully, that is on the cards soon!” she hinted to the organisers at the FA jokily. “Leicester was the team I feel I did a lot of developing in my younger years so it’s really special to go back in an England shirt, and my gran can come, so I’m excited.
“It’s incredibly rewarding. For me, this is the greater purpose in why I do what I do. I love playing football, I love diving around in the mud, I love representing my country but to be able to give back to young kids coming through and to be able to change how things are done and influence that. It was unbelievable and very pinch me.” Many of those attending the event were given goalkeepers shirts and Earps also revealed “More shirts will be coming before the end of the year and I’m really excited about that,” for those that were unable to purchase in the first drop by Nike.
Manchester City goalkeeper Sandy MacIver has been called up for Scotland, despite previously being a Lioness. Wiegman confirmed the player had reached out and had a discussion about the situation. The England boss offered her congratulations to the shotstopper.
England now continue their final preparations for Friday’s game against Belgium, in what will be a tougher game than their meetings in the past. The game at the King Power Stadium in Leicester is a sell-out.
Madeleine Blount’s exclusive photo gallery for Impetus from St. George’s Park today:
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