Learning more and more
Tuesday, 21 July, 2009
Rachel Williams is enjoying playing alongside England’s elite.
An impressive campaign for Doncaster Rovers Belles earned Rachel Williams a call-up to Hope Powell’s latest squad and, after making her England bow against Iceland last week, she told TheFA.com that she is savouring every minute of her international experience so far.
From her midfield berth Williams was in magnificent form for the Belles all season, helping them to a fourth-place finish in The Premier League. She also scored four goals en route to The Final of The FA Women’s Premier League Cup, ultimately playing her way into Mo Marley’s squad for the U20 World Cup last November.
Her form did not go unnoticed by Powell who presented her with an England debut last week and although the Iceland game ended in defeat, it did not dampen Williams’ joy.
"It was brilliant, I really enjoyed it," the 21-year-old said. "It’s always hard to come on when you’re 1-0 down, so everything felt 100 miles per hour, but I really enjoyed it. It was great to get on and show what I can do."
Williams will be hoping to double her caps total when The Three Lions take on Denmark at the County Ground on Wednesday, knowing that an impressive showing would enhance her chances of being included in the 22-strong squad for next month’s European Championship. However, Williams says the competition for Euro places has not affected the spirit in the England camp.
"In training everyone’s battling it out, working as hard as they can to fight for their position for the Euros," she reported. "But once it comes to games we become more of a team and we work together rather than trying to nick each other’s spaces.
"Every time you come to a [training] camp you learn more and more. I'm really enjoying being with the older ones and learning from them and working with the likes of Fara [Williams], Kelly [Smith] and Woody [Emily Westwood] who are all in my position. Hopefully I can stay here and work as hard as I can and be in the team for Wednesday.
"We’re going to go out there and try and do what we’ve been working on in training. Hopefully we’ll stay tight as a team, [not] let them break us down and try and work an opening to score a couple of goals."
Watch the full video interview with Rachel by clicking on the play icon in the top right of your screen.