16 July 2023 , 17:19
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The Lionesses have paid tribute to their inspirational young fans back home as they prepare to take on the best teams in the world.
Thousands of supporters have turned out just to see the Lionesses train Down Under on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. They have relaxed with whale watching, catching up on ‘ Love Island ’, beach walks and the occasional trip to the zoo.
But Coach Sarina Wiegman, 53, is also working them hard for Saturday’s opening game against Haiti...and warned the outsiders, ranked 55th in the world, will still be dangerous opposition. “This is their first World Cup,” said. “But they beat Chile to qualify, that was very impressive.”
Jess Carter controls the ball during a training session (The FA via Getty Images)Back home, millions of children are set to tune in for the 10.30am kick off on the first day of the school summer holidays.
Captain Millie Bright, 29, has promised that the team has a ‘lot of things in place to stay connected with our fans’ despite being 10,000 miles away. “They’ve been a massive part of our journey so far so that is really important,” she said.
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Euro 2022 star Alessia Russo, 24, also spoke of the huge boost given to the team by their young fanbase. “You love seeing the boys and girls there with the signs and banners,” she said. “They just want to be there to follow our sport.”
Man Utd’s Ella Toone, 23, from Wigan, is looking to ‘make the fans proud’ and says it is a huge motivation for the team. Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze has promised that the team has learned from agonising back-to-back World Cup semi final defeats.
They have just been on a 30-match unbeaten run under Wiegman during which they won Euro 22 with a dramatic 2-1 extra time victory over old foes Germany at Wembley.
Their first match is against Haiti on Saturday (The FA via Getty Images)But Berwick-born Lucy, 31, said: “A lot of people say ‘Sarina changed England’ but we’ve been working on that for 10 years. We had to go through every milestone for the first time.
“We beat the US, we beat France, we beat Germany, we won a knockout game - for the first time. We had to go through every single process for the first time. Obviously winning a trophy is the main one but there was so many small milestones that we hit that changed our mentality.”
She said the team has achieved ‘most things now’ - except that elusive World Cup victory. Each squad member receives a reported £10,000 from the FA, in line with the payments made to the men’s team, to fly in relatives for the tournament.
Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Lucy Bronze at the Sunshine Coast Stadium (The FA via Getty Images)Georgia Stanway’s dad Paul, 57, is heading to Oz from his home in Barrow, Cumbria and will be watching alongside various family members of the 23-player squad.
Georgia and the team met England veteran Margaret ‘Paddy’ McGroarty, who was part of the first ever England women’s team. They made history in the first full international fixture against Scotland in 1972.
Nottingham-born keeper Mary Earps, 30, said: “We’re delighted she made the journey from Melbourne to see us. The team of 1972 play a special part in the history of the game. Whatever has been subsequently achieved would not have been possible without that group of women leading the way and breaking down barriers. We stand on their shoulders. She’ll always be one of us. Once a Lioness, always a Lioness."
Player profiles
Who: Lotte Wubben-Moy, 24
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From: Bow, London. Fluent in Dutch, her dad Antonius Wubben is from Holland was the owner of Kaizen Furniture Makers.
A talented sportswoman, she was named ‘victrix ludorum (sports champion) at school for football, netball, track and field.
In the “Where Greatness Is Made” campaign, a plaque honouring her was installed in London. Her aunt used to sing her Arsenal songs as a child.
Her boyfriend is Olympic cyclist Tao Geoghegan Hart; Lotte was key in the 2022 campaign to give girls equal rights to sport at school.
Who: Alex Greenwood, 29
Age: 29 From: Liverpool, Merseyside Alex has already started training up the next generation of Lionesses by launching her girls’ football academy, AG5, in June. The five week training programme has been inundated with requests after a huge uptake in young girls playing the sport.
Who: Rachel Daly, 27.
From: Harrogate, N. Yorks Wacky over-packer Rachel had her teammates and fans in stitches after packing an entire box of TV cables to take with her to Oz.
The Love Island superfan said she was determined not to miss an episode of the reality TV show despite being on the other side of the world.
Daly is close friends with teammate Millie Bright left her football team in Houston, Texas, to return to play for Aston Villa, and she explains why she made the decision after the death of her father Martyn two years ago.
Who: Jessica Carter, 25
From: Warwick, Warks On the pitch and off the pitch Jess champions LGBT rights. With her home team Chelsea, she plays alongside her girlfriend, Ann-Katrin Berger, and was featured in British Vogue’s Pride Portfolio in June. Jess said:
“Because she’s a goalkeeper she has her own schedule, so it doesn’t feel like we see each other a lot, which is nice, as it doesn’t feel too much.”
Alex Greenwood looks on during a training session at Sunshine Coast (The FA via Getty Images)How to watch on TV
England face Haiti on Sat., July 22 (10.30 am kick off, ITV ) then travel 560 miles from Brisbane to Sydney for their second group match against Denmark (9.30 am, BBC ) on July 28.
That is followed by a trip of more than 800 miles to Adelaide to face China on Aug 1 (12 pm, ITV). Fans can watch the action at the Ledward Centre in Brighton, East Sussex.