Beth England plans to be in the Lionesses squad for the long term

Thursday 26 Sep 2019
Beth England made her senior team bow against Belgium

Beth England is the latest member of the Lionesses family – and now she’s had a taste of senior team action, the striker is hungry for more.

After cutting her teeth in the U19s and U23s, the 25-year-old made her senior team bow in August, coming off the bench for the final 14 minutes of the 3-3 draw in Belgium.

England also came on in the 2-1 defeat by Norway four days later and she has been included in Phil Neville’s squad for the upcoming double header against Brazil and Portugal.

England v Brazil
  • A Women's International
  • 12.45pm, Saturday 5 October
  • Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
“It was an amazing feeling and a really proud moment for me and my family,” said England of her debut.

“It’s something I’ve worked towards for as long as I can remember. I loved every minute of it. It was unbelievable to get out on the pitch for the first time. I just wish we could have got a better result.”

Only two players – Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema and England team mate Nikita Parris – scored more domestic goals than England in 2018-19.

And the Barnsley native has started this campaign in a similar vein, getting Chelsea’s season off to a flier by converting a 25-yard winner against Spurs at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend.

She was on target again in the Blues’ 2-0 win over West Ham in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup.

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It was this consistency in front of goal that persuaded Neville to hand England her maiden senior team call-up, alongside fellow newcomers Aoife Mannion, Anna Patten and Sandy MacIver.

“It was a bit of a shock to the system, being in the England set-up and seeing what training was like,” she said.

“When you go away on international duty there’s a much higher tempo to training. I wasn’t scared going into the camp, I was excited more than anything. I kept telling myself that if I got the chance to get on the pitch I had to do my best and hopefully justify why Phil chose to bring me in.”


England added: “The girls were amazing. I obviously knew a few of them from Chelsea and I played with Aoife all through the age groups. I roomed with Aoife and I thought that was fitting because we’d both been on the same England journey together.”

England has just 26 minutes of senior team experience, but now she is keen to earn a regular place in Neville’s plans.

“It’s always nice when you hear or read people saying nice things about you, but I like to do my talking on the pitch,” she said.

“In any World Cup year it’s going to be tough to break into any squad, but especially one as talented as ours.

“I knew it was always going to be difficult to break in but all I could was keep performing, keep scoring goals and keep asking questions. I just had to try and keep myself fit and in form in case that call came – and thankfully it did.

“It was an amazing feeling when I finally got the call so now it’s about staying in form, learning more, staying in the squad and hopefully playing my best football for England.

“I’ve got over the first hurdle. Now I want to kick on.”

By Glenn Lavery