Meet the stars of Man City, Man United and Chelsea you have probably never heard of – but will be cheering on
CAN the Lionesses finally end years of hurt by doing what the men’s team failed to do last summer – lift a major trophy?
Playing on home soil when the Euros kick off next week, the England ladies will be roared on by a sell-out crowd in Manchester for their opening match against Austria at Old Trafford.
Ellen White projected on the famous cliffs at Dover this week[/caption]On top of that, they have a manager who knows how to win things.
Sarina Wiegman took her home nation Holland to glory in Euro 2017, thrashing England 3-0 in the semi-finals.
England are unbeaten since Wiegman replaced Phil Neville, and they took revenge on the highly rated Dutch side with a 5-1 win in a friendly last week.
The Lionesses have reached two Euro finals, losing both times, but now our team is packed with the hottest players in the women’s game – and they are dead set on reaching the Wembley final on July 31.
Grant Rollings picks the stars to look out for . . .
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ELLEN WHITE
Ellen White is England’s top scorer with 50 goals[/caption]AS England’s top scorer, with 50 goals, Ellen is a team talisman and fans will hope she is in form.
In the run-up to this tournament the 33-year-old tested positive for Covid, causing her to miss England’s penultimate warm-up game against Holland.
Despite her success, with 105 caps, when she was a footie-mad teen Ellen was told she would never play for England because she was not good enough.
She said: “I was selected for the youth age groups, but I had never thought I’d become a senior international. When it did happen, it just blew my mind.’’
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FRAN KIRBY
Fran Kirby will live up to her lat mum’s prediction[/caption]WHEN Chelsea star Fran was little, her late mum Denise wrote on a birthday card that she’d play in a World Cup.
Fran, now 29, who played for Reading youth team back then, said: “Hopefully, I can show why I’ve been selected and go and win a trophy.”
BETH MEAD
ARSENAL striker Beth scored her 14th international goal of the season against Holland last week – breaking Jimmy Greaves’s 61-year record.
In 2015 Beth, now 27, flipped her car in a crash.
Two days later, she scored a hat-trick against Chelsea.
LEAH WILLIAMSON
Leah Williamson was named England captain in April[/caption]THE Gunners’ 25-year-old midfielder, from Milton Keynes, Bucks, was named England captain in April and said: “I went straight to my mum, dad and brother and they’re very proud.
“It was a nice conversation and there were some tears.”
MARY EARPS
A new contract at Man United and the arrival of coach Sarina Wiegman has revitalised Mary Earps’ career, and she’s now the first choice goalie.[/caption]Just last year goalie Earps was considering quitting football – with her Manchester United contract coming to an end and an England return seeming unlikely.
The 29-year-old from Nottingham, who has a business studies degree from Loughborough University and a keen interest in design, hadn’t had any caps since November 2019.
She said: “Women’s football is very different to men’s football. It’s not a normal job and it’s not a case of you are set for life in that way, you have to plan.”
But a new contract at United and the arrival of coach Sarina Wiegman has revitalised her career, and she’s now the first choice goalie.
She said: “It’s been a wild year.”
MILLIE BRIGHT
ALONG with Rachel Daly, Bright has been deemed the loudest in the Lioness in the camp by teammates – with a reputation for having a laugh and making TikToks.
The 28-year-old from Chesterfield was originally dedicated to horse-riding, before making the switch to football later.
She’s now a star defender for Chelsea and has been named vice-captain for Euro 2022.
LUCY BRONZE
THE 30-year-old star defender recently signed to Barcelona from Manchester City and says: “I had offers from Lyon and Barca, the two best teams in the world.
“It wasn’t bad to be able to pick from that and make my decision.”
LAUREN HEMP
Lauren Hemp’s speed on the pitch has led England team-mate Lucy Bronze to call her ‘the fastest thing I’ve ever seen’[/caption]THE 21-year-old Man City forward has scored 21 goals this season and has been named Young Player of the Year a record four times.
Her speed on the pitch has led England team-mate Lucy Bronze to call her “the fastest thing I’ve ever seen”.
RACHEL DALY
VERSATILE Rachel plays full-back, wing back or even in the front line and has eight goals from 51 England caps.
The 30-year-old captain of Houston Dash in the US hopes her late dad Martyn will be “somewhere, looking at me, beaming with pride”.
KEIRA WALSH
MIDFIELDER Keira, 25, has enjoyed huge success with her club Manchester City, and captained her country aged just 21, for England’s 6-0 win in Kazakhstan in September 2018 – in only her seventh appearance for the senior team.
ALEX GREENWOOD
LIVERPOOL-born Greenwood, 28, has played for some of top clubs including Everton, Man United, Lyon and now Man City.
And she’s been an England star for eight years, with 61 caps to her name.
But Greenwood has also admitted to suffering vile trolling – including over her eyelash extensions and her move to City, having previously captained United.
She said:“I don’t think people were aware of how badly it actually affected me, because I didn’t let my football suffer.”
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FIXTURES
Wednesday, July 6, 8pm
England v Austria
(Old Trafford, Manchester)
Monday, July 11, 8pm
England v Norway
(American Express Community Stadium, Brighton)
Friday, July 15, 8pm
Northern Ireland v England
(St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton)