Jess Naz reflects on her time with the Lionesses

Jess Naz

Reflecting on her time with the Lionesses...

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Jess Naz but, as ever, the young forward remains humble after receiving her maiden England senior squad call-up, remaining ‘grateful’ for the opportunities.

The 23-year-old was originally named as one of the four standby players in Sarina Wiegman’s 28-player squad at the beginning of May but, after Lauren James’ withdrawal from injury and impressing in training, Jess was promoted into the full set-up ahead of their double-header against France.

The good news kept on coming for our number seven as she was put in the matchday squad for the first time in the Lionesses fixture against France in the UEFA EURO 2025 qualifiers at St James’ Park and, in the four days that followed, she was named on the bench in the reverse fixture in St Etienne, France.

Following her time with England over the latest international window, we caught up with Jess to reflect on the experience at senior international level…

Jess Naz alongside Esme Morgan, Mille Turner and Alessia Russo at England training.

“It was good,” she said. “The training sessions were at top standards which is something I liked and enjoyed, the girls were really nice as well and that helped me settle in, it was just so chilled.

“It was an opportunity for me to learn, I was in an environment with some of the best players in the world so, for me, it was to try and take down as much information as I can, soak up the opportunity I was given but also showcase myself against these players.

“I enjoyed the training sessions, I went into them with no fear and, I think, I trained well, I didn’t shy down from any opportunity to shoot or take a one-on-one, they were very encouraging as well for me to take those chances.

“We had a lot of downtime, so I spent most of the time out of my room, trying to socialise with all the players. It was good, Sarina was good, the atmosphere at games was crazy, when we went out to warm-up and seeing all the supporters was like a ‘wow’ moment, it was just an unreal experience.”

All smiles from Jess. Credit: England.

Jess in training for the Lionesses

Asked about the moment she received the news about moving into the full England senior squad for the first time, unsurprisingly, Jess admitted she was left speechless when talking to Sarina.

She explained: “Lauren James was struggling a bit in training so I stepped into one of the drills and then, after training, I was putting my kit away and Sarina was down the corridor, she was like ‘Jess, I want to speak to you. Lauren won’t be able to play so congratulations you will now be moved into the squad’ and I was just like ‘wow’ and kind of got to that point of not knowing what to say.

“She continued to say that ‘you have trained really well and keep doing what you are doing, enjoy the moment’. I first told my family and they were just buzzing for me.”

Jess in the gym with fellow Under-23 players Missy Bo Kearns (middle) and Aggie Beever-Jones (right). Credit: England.

Having been a regular for the England Under-23s throughout the season, it can be a daunting experience stepping into a squad you haven’t been involved in before.

However, the forward was joined by fellow Under-23 team-mates Aggie Beever-Jones, Lucy Thomas and Missy Bo Kearns, who were also making their maiden call-up to the senior squad, alongside Grace Clinton, who spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan with us, and she spoke about the importance of familiar faces but also building connections with the rest of the squad.

“It was nice that they were a few of us from the Under-23s, so we kind of stuck together on camp but also tried to socialise with other players,” Jess explained.

“Even in training sessions and drills, we had me and Aggie who are both forwards, so we were doing finishing drills together, it just helped settle the nerves as we knew we had each other but we also tried to build connections with other players.”

England fans at Newcastle United's St James' Park.

Over 42,000 supporters attended Newcastle United’s St James’ Park in the first game of England’s double-header against France and, although it wasn’t the result they were expecting at Tyneside as they suffered a 2-1 defeat, Jess was blown away by the support.

“When we got to the stadium, the number of fans that were there, they were screaming and cheering for us, also in the warm-up and hearing your name on the tannoy in the stadium and hearing the fans cheering was just so surreal, the atmosphere was just crazy – it was all amazing. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get the result in the first game but the way the fans cheered on the players really helped.”

Jess will remain involved in Wiegman’s squad for the final two EURO 2025 qualifiers next month, where they face Republic of Ireland at home before travelling to face Sweden, and, for our number seven, she wants to continue to showcase her ability on the international stage.

“It has been an up-and-down journey for me and, I think, being in the position I was at the start of the season, one of my main goals was to stay fit and healthy and I knew if I could do that, I would have a good season,” she added.

“Everything has just kind of clicked into place, I have been working really hard behind-the-scenes and now you finally see the results and, ultimately, getting opportunities with the national team.

“It's time to chill with family and enjoy the moment before another good opportunity to work with the players, the manager and get to know everyone even more, there’s so many staff that I’m still trying to learn all their names, but another chance for me to showcase myself.”