“I’m buzzing!” - Bethany reacts to England World Cup call-up

Earlier this week, Bethany England was named in the Lionesses squad for her first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Barnsley-born forward has been in excellent form in 2023, scoring 12 goals in 12 Barclays Women's Super League appearances during the second half of the season in Lilywhite.

For England, Bethany has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances, including eight in the qualifying campaign for this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Last summer, she was a part of the country’s historic Euro 2022 winning squad, and was awarded Freedom of the City of London in August.

Beth’s first World Cup begins on Thursday 20 July, with England set to face Haiti, Denmark and China in Group D from Saturday 22 July to Tuesday 1 August.

We caught up with this season’s top scorer over the phone to get her reaction to the exciting news.

It’s been an exciting week for you Beth. When did you get notified of the call-up?

“I got the call on Wednesday morning, around 10.30am. Sarina [Wiegman] and the assistant video called me to let me know the good news. Obviously I was buzzing with it, so it was a nice moment. I was able to tell my family, but only a few people, because you don’t want it getting leaked before the official announcement. It was lovely.”

How did it feel to get that news?

“It was 50/50 - I genuinely didn’t think it was going to happen, especially with the competition that’s… [Beth is interrupted by a series of barks]... Winnie! Winnie! Sorry, I’m looking after my mate’s dogs, so I’ve got four dogs with me at the moment!”

They sound excited as well!

“Winnie! I forgot what I was saying. It’s been a while since I’ve been called up and the competition is very tough with Alessia [Russo] and Rachel [Daly] so I wasn’t sure if she was going to take three number nines again, but she is and for me it’s about now going out there and proving again that I deserve to play.”

How do you feel about the strength of the whole squad going into the competition?

“It’s a completely different squad to the previous summer. There’s a lot less experience, however there’s a completely different calibre of players that all bring their own unique skillset to the team. The youthful side of the squad may have an advantage and I hope it does, but I think it’s exciting. It’s a new wave of talent coming through within the England setup and I think this summer is going to be a great showcase of that. Hopefully it’s going to be a great summer all round for everyone.”

As for 2023, you must be really proud of the second half of the season. Your assignment was to come to Spurs, get minutes and score goals and that’s what you’ve done.

“You might as well say it for me, that’s pretty much it! Coming into Spurs off the back of very little game time at Chelsea, where I’d been on the bench for the most part of two years if I’m being brutally honest, maybe even three at a push, I knew I needed to play. Spurs coming in gave me that opportunity to showcase what I can do and what I’m about. I know I can score goals when given the opportunity, so I’m ecstatic with how my season ended. I think I exceeded my expectations of myself and probably many others to have scored as many goals as I did in such a short space of time. Nonetheless, I’m very proud of how it all happened and I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help at Spurs behind me.”

So what happens next?

“We’re still waiting to hear the final details, but I believe there will be a couple of training camps together as a group before we fly out to the World Cup.”

Do you have any holidays planned before then?

“Thankfully my holiday was already booked way in advance and I get back the day before the first camp, so I must have subconsciously done that without even knowing! Thankfully I can go away and get a nice break.”

Going anywhere sunny?

“I’m doing a cruise actually - Greece and Croatia. I’ve never done one before but I’m very excited about it and I hope it’s going to be beautiful. I need the break now!”