by Freya Ward at St. George’s Park for Impetus (30/5/24).
Above: England’s Millie Bright speaking to the media ahead of tomorrow’s first game with France. Photo: Freya Ward for Impetus.
The Lionesses are going through their final preparations at their St George’s Park training centre ahead of their UEFA EURO qualifying fixtures against France with Millie Bright emphasising that the two games are “massive” to their hopes of retaining the trophy.
This camp is the first of several taking place over the summer period, with the same 28-player squad joining together to play Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in July.
This squad was announced in May, with a few notable inclusions. Bright has made her way back into the team after a knee injury saw her sidelined for a large portion of the season. The Chelsea star spoke about her recovery from injury as “the most tasking period” of her season. Bright’s strength and leadership qualities have been a huge miss for England, so her inclusion is a popular choice amongst the fans and players.
The defender spoke highly of fellow Chelsea teammate Aggie Beever-Jones who has received her first senior call-up, describing her as “a sponge.” Beever-Jones scored 11 goals in 17 appearances for the Blues last season, having only started in six of these games, deservingly these stats have earned her call-up by Sarina Wiegman.
Beever-Jones is one of multiple youngsters who have made the move up from the Under 23 Squad with the likes of Khiara Keating and Grace Clinton securing their senior spot in recent months. The England pathway is something that Beever-Jones spoke very highly of at the media event, with regard to her time at the U19 Euro Finals saying: “Although it didn’t really go our way it’s setting us up for these camps and playing games that ultimately matter.”
This camp has the addition of four standby players on top of the original 24-player squad. These names include Jessica Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Missy-Bo Kearns (Liverpool), Lucy Thomas (Birmingham City), and Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United). Le Tissier has since been moved into the 23-player senior squad in the absence of defenders, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Niamh Charles who have withdrawn due to foot and calf injuries respectively.
Thomas is a new name in this England squad, having been called up on standby to replace Southampton number one Kayla Rendell, who is recovering from an ankle injury and is set to be assessed before the July window alongside Charles, in hopes of making their way back into the team to play Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.
Going into the double header against France, the Lionesses currently sit second in their group with a healthy tally of four points – two behind short of Les Bleues – so two positive results are vital if England wants to be in the best possible position for qualification, especially after falling short on Olympic qualification for this summer’s games in Paris.
Bright described the prospect of winning both these games as “massive” for the team, especially due to France’s current form making it to the Final of the UEFA Women’s Nations League, narrowly missing out to the current World number one, Spain.
The Lionesses play their first game against France tomorrow (Friday 31st May) with a win moving them to the top of the table; three points would put them in the driving seat for the rest of the qualifying games regardless of the result in the group’s other match between the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Securing two wins against the third-ranked nation in the world would be a huge step for England in hopes of making it to the 2025 European championship in Switzerland to defend their title.
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