Spurs forward England delighted to have fresh opportunity to wear national team badge

Brighton, England, July 20th 2022: Bethany England (#19 England) celebrates after winning the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 quarter-final football match between England and Spain at the Brighton and Hove Community Stadium in Brighton, England – Image by Liam Asman /SPP

With less than a month to go before the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks-off in Australia and New Zealand, national teams are beginning to prepare for what lies ahead this summer.

The Lionesses arrived at their St George’s Park training base on Monday and head coach Sarina Wiegman conducted her first training session the following day. It was a chance to see familiar faces, returning faces and some new faces as England prepare for the tournament of a lifetime.

One name that stood out to many fans who will be on the plane Down Under is Tottenham Hotspur forward Bethany England. The 29-year-old starred for The Lilywhites since completing her move from Chelsea in January and she is fully-deserving of her England recall.

The forward spoke to FAWSL Full-Time about getting the call and the driving force behind making her move to Spurs.

“It was amazing for me,” England said when speaking about getting the call that she would be going to this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. “I think I’d done everything I could to get put in this position.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this environment, so it’s just a pleasure to be back here wearing the badge and I’m excited for the summer.”

England spent seven years with former club Chelsea. After finding herself sat on the bench with no game time towards the end of her time in South West London, she knew a move, despite being tough mentally, would ultimately revitalise her career and allow her to be in the best position to earn herself an international recall.

“Anything is a risk in football,” she said. “The situation I was in at Chelsea, I wasn’t getting used and as Sarina rightly said, I wasn’t getting picked for England because I wasn’t getting minutes.

“It was up to me to make sure I was getting minutes and making those minutes count and I think I’ve done that at Spurs. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to go out and play and be happy again.

“Chelsea was a big part of my professional career and I didn’t like the thought of change but it all happened so quickly. It wasn’t until a couple of months in that it actually hit me what was going on.”

England scored 12 goals in as many games when she joined Spurs in January and she played a crucial part in keeping the club in the Barclays Women’s Super League, but she will openly admit the motivation of making the FIFA Women’s World Cup was always on her mind.

She said “At the back of my mind, the World Cup was creeping up and I’d not been selected in a few camps. Every player wants to be a part of these big moments representing your country and going to big tournaments, so it was definitely a key factor.

“Being a part of winning the EUROs, to then not being involved in a camp for knocking up to 10 months now has been difficult, because I’m seeing the team win the Finalissima and the Arnold Clark Cup and that’s all moments I want to be a part of. Ultimately, that’s the decision that was made and that’s life.

“I could’ve stayed on the bench at Chelsea in my comfort zone, but then I’d have been watching people go to Australia. I know it’s something I would’ve regretted looking back on.”

England could make her return to action for the Lionesses when they face Portugal in an international friendly in Milton Keynes next Saturday.