England name U20 Women’s World Cup squad amid threatened European boycott
Lydia Bedford has named her England Women U20 squad for the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, which runs from 5 to 27 September, amid an ongoing boycott threat from some European nations. England had earlier this month beaten Portugal 2-0 in a pre-tournament friendly.
Calls have been made for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign after controversy over the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which was subsequently aborted following widespread criticism led by Uefa and other confederations. Uefa has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions in response to the proposal. FFE would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, with 21% to be sold to a private investment company. The U20 Women’s World Cup is the next Fifa tournament and therefore the first under threat of a boycott.
Bedford spoke to BBC Sport after England’s warm-up win in Portugal and addressed the boycott for the first time. "I was actually at the theatre in London when my dad rang me out of the blue and I was like 'what's happening?' From my perspective the message from leadership all along has been 'just continue as usual' so we have," she said. "It's not something we've really even spoken to the players about because ultimately every opportunity we have to get on the grass and prepare this team we want to be in the best position possible. So all focus has been on that."
England are one of six European nations taking part in the 24-team tournament, alongside France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and hosts Poland. The squad have been drawn in Group B with Brazil, Tanzania and Canada. Italy, Portugal and Poland are expected to name their squads next week, Spain announced theirs on Thursday, and France have not confirmed a date.
Bedford selected a 21-player group to travel to Poland, which includes North Carolina Courage midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, who received a surprise senior call-up in March. "It's an incredibly exciting moment to name the squad and a huge achievement for every player selected," said Bedford. "We know the level of competition in Poland will be extremely high but we're excited by the prospect of the challenge. "For the 21 players selected, the focus now is on making the most of this opportunity, representing England with pride, and seeing how far we can go."
The squad list named by Bedford is: Goalkeepers: Eve Annets (Manchester City), Katie Cox (Chelsea, on loan to Nottingham Forest), Kaiya Jota (Stanford University). Defenders: Ria Bose (West Ham), Sacha Lewis (Manchester City), Rachel Maltby (Aston Villa), Lucy Newell (Manchester United), Chloe Sarwie (Chelsea), Zara Shaw (Liverpool), Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Arsenal, on loan to FC Rosengård). Midfielders: Lola Brown (Chelsea), May Cruft (Rangers), Chloe B. Hylton (Carolina Ascent), Vera Jones (Chelsea, on loan to Watford), Erica Meg Parkinson (North Carolina Courage). Forwards: Princess Ademiluyi (Gotham FC, on loan to Ipswich Town), Lily Dent (Brighton & Hove Albion, on loan to Sunderland), Jessie Gale (Arsenal, on loan to Newcastle), Eva Hendle (Chelsea, on loan to Rangers), Eleanor Klinger (Stanford University), Lauryn Thompson (North Carolina Courage).
The tournament format advances the top two teams from each group automatically to the last 16, with the four best third-placed teams also progressing. The final is scheduled to be held in Lodz on Sunday, 27 September.
England’s first match in the competition is against Canada on Saturday, 5 September at 17:00 BST at Stadion Miejski Bielsko-Biala.
