by Freya Ward at St. George’s Park for Impetus with exclusive photography from Aimee Reynolds (10/7/24).
England are preparing to face Ireland and Sweden in the final two games of their UEFA EURO qualifying group stage. Alessia Russo described the upcoming fixtures as “two massive games.”
The squad must bring their A-game to secure automatic qualification, which the team has made clear they are striving for, Russo touched on the extremely “high standards,” that the squad have for themselves and that automatic qualification is “ultimately the goal.”
The media were able to get a glimpse into training, where we witnessed Anna Moorhouse’s first session with the squad, the 29-year-old Orlando Pride number one told us she was brought to tears when she received the call from Sarina Wiegman.
Moorhouse is a brilliant addition to England’s GK union, if her current domestic form is anything to go by she currently has seven clean sheets in the National Women’s Soccer League, more than any other goalkeeper in the league.
Currently, the Lionesses sit third in their group with seven points, equal with Sweden, however, its goal difference keeping them from sitting in one of the sought-after automatic qualification spots. England face the Republic of Ireland on Friday at Carrow Road, Norwich, where they will be hoping to keep Ireland’s total points at zero, to give themselves the best chance of finishing in the top two to avoid two rounds of play-offs.
Avoiding need to play competitive games during the international windows in which those play-off rounds for finishing third would involve the would allow the team more time to rest and recover, which is a huge focus for the team after a busy two years with back-to-back major tournaments.
Lionesses boss Wiegman has emphasised the importance of giving her players time to step away from the pitch, to ensure their top performance on the it, and six points out of six over the coming days would go a long way towards ensuring that could happen.
For more updates from inside of the England camp make sure that you are following Impetus on all social media platforms, where our team will be uploading a variety of exclusive content from England’s media events including an exclusive TikTok with Esme Morgan over the coming days.
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Aimee Reynolds photo gallery from the England camp at St. Georges’ Park for Impetus
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