The Lionesses have announced their 23-strong squad for the World Cup in France, which starts a subsequent month. Manchester City’s Steph Houghton will captain the group, which features eleven World Cup first-timers and veterans Karen Carney, Jill Scott, and Lucy Bronze.
Beth Mead believes she is gambling on the fine soccer of her career. The Arsenal forward wants a starting spot in the England World Cup squad following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat of Manchester City on the last day of the Women’s Super League season.
The Gunners moved seven points clear of City on the pinnacle of the table, having already clinched the identity at Brighton ultimate week after a wonder strike from Emma Mitchell. “I don’t need to be a squad player anymore,” stated Mead. “I need to be pushing for a role to start. I’m even more hungry for it now I’m going.”
Mead changed into complete praise for the Lionesses squad unveiling through social media. At the same time, the captain, Steph Houghton, was introduced by way of Prince William and herself and teammate Leah Williamson using the Arsenal legends Kelly Smith and Ian Wright, respectively: “The king and queen of Arsenal,” she grins. In midweek, Phil Neville, the England supervisor, said that he might not be looking at the season’s last WSL
video games. “Every time a gamer goes down, you watched: ‘She’s out of the World Cup.’ So I’ll flip the small-screen television off and desire all the sundry to receive through. I don’t want all of us injured,” he said recently. But even as Neville’s eyes have been elsewhere, a sell-out Borehamwood crowd was well and centered on Arsenal’s meeting with the unbeaten City.
City’s supervisor, Nick Cushing, eased Neville’s worries by sticking the dynamic forward duo of Nikita Parris (who should be joining Lyon after confirming via Instagram on Saturday that she is leaving City) and Georgia Stanway at the bench. The goalkeeper Karen Bardsley and Abbie McManus also took seats within the dugout, meaning simply four of eight gamers in England’s 23-sturdy squad – Houghton, Demi Stokes, Jill Scott,
Keira Walsh – started the sport. Mead and the 22-year-old center-lower back Williamson began to work for Arsenal. A cagey first 1/2, with simply bragging rights at stake, had Arsenal pressing excessively and Lauren Hemp isolated up the front for City. Perhaps Neville needs to have tuned in, although, with the presence of Arsenal’s Dutch ahead Vivianne Miedema, who has scored more than 30 goals in all competitions, imparting another hazard to see Houghton tested in opposition to the pleasant.
Minutes in Houghton became available to dam an effective shot from Miedema from the brink of the area. If something, and in all likelihood worryingly for Neville, it becomes Scotland’s Kim Little, who appeared to hassle the City defense more. Sitting at the shoulder of Walsh, Little constantly snapped on the heels of City’s again line.
Scotland is first up for England in Group D. Although decidedly the underdogs, the four players on display right here – Little, Lisa Evans, Mitchell, and Caroline Weir – indicate how sturdy Scotland’s starting XI can be within the summer.
“We’ve been given masses of gamers competing inside the WSL against the English women week in, week out,” said Mitchell. “It gives us self-assurance going into that game. This is our first World Cup; we’ve nothing to lose. All the hype will be on England, who could become supporting everybody else.” At 1/2-time, Stokes, run ragged by her international teammate Mead, became substituted for Megan Campbell.
It took Arsenal until the 89th minute to clinch victory. Mead’s nook turned into clear. However, the ball fell to Mitchell on the brink of the container, who lashed a superb left-foot strike beyond Ellie Roebuck, à Los Angeles Vincent Kompany. Mitchell laughed at the comparison.
A few of the women stated that his goal was more about the fact that we’ve already wrapped the league up,” she said, wearing Cashes’s dated ague-winner T-shirt. “I saw the T-shirt of the ladies when the ball went out for a nook that I changed into going to go f; or it, however, I didn’t expect it to happen.
