sport.wikisort.org - Team

England Women's under-23

Nickname(s)	The Young Lionesses
Association	The Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Mo Marley
FIFA code	ENG
First colours Second colours
Nordic Cup
Appearances	5 (first in 2004)
Best result	Third (2005)

The England women's national under-23 football team, also known as England women Under-23s or England women U23(s), is an association football team operated under the auspices of The Football Association.

Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior England women's national football team. As long as they were eligible, players can play for England at any level, making it possible to play for the U23s, senior side, and again for the U23s, as Natasha Dowie, Rachel Williams and Danielle Buet have done recently. In 2005 Casey Stoney played for the team in the Nordic Cup, despite already having 30 caps at senior level.[1] It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible). Helen Lander and Kylie Davies decided to play for Wales at senior level after playing for England U23s, while Sophie Perry elected to play for Ireland.

History

Beginnings

In February 1987 the Women's Football Association (WFA) appointed Liz Deighan to run a women's national under-21 team. Deighan had been a star midfielder in the England team which reached the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football. Four years later Deighan was not re–appointed and John Bilton took over. The team folded shortly afterwards because the WFA had run out of money. Eight of England's squad at the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup had come through Deighan's U-21 team, including Pauline Cope, Karen Burke and Louise Waller.[2]

FA sanctioned team

In summer 2004, The Football Association (FA) decided to reconstitute the U-21 team in order to give women a higher level of play to better prepare them for the full national team. Senior team manager Hope Powell held a four-day camp in Shropshire and announced: "This is a major step forward for our international teams and will bridge the gap between Under-19 and Senior levels. We have been observing players in this age bracket for the last six months and with the clubs' assistance I believe we can make this a real success."[3] Powell installed her full-time assistant with the senior team, Brent Hills, as coach of the team, which remained an U-21 selection from 2004 through 2008.

Competing as an U-23 team (2008–2018)

2008 saw the change of England's youth national women's team moved to the U-23 level. The move was made by the FA in response to age-level changes FIFA had made to its oldest women's youth competition, now named FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. The age limit was raised from being a U-19 tournament to a U-20 tournament. This adjustment, coupled with a newly introduced U-23 age limit to the Nordic Cup, prompted the FA to rethink and eventually change the youth development team. The team continues to serve as a stepping-stone for players to the England women's national team. Brent Hills explained that it had become more of a challenge to break into the senior team: "When I started, if you were an extremely talented 18-year-old you may have been able to get into the senior team. I'll give you an example, Fara Williams. You would have to be the next Kelly Smith now to be able to do that."[4]

England U23s did not have a permanent home. When England hosted a tournament in 2010, the event was held at University of Warwick where it was possible to attend and watch without a ticket. Because of the smaller demand compared to the senior women's national team, much smaller grounds could be used.

The team's last competitive tournament was the 2012 Four Nations Tournament, in which England finished third. They also competed in a variety of competitions, including the annual Nordic Cup, which was previously the top competition for this age group.[5]

Move to U-21 system (2018–2021)

In a bid to better aid the transition between the youth pathway and senior football, the FA announced in September 2018 that they were scrapping the U23s and U20s levels in order to form an Under-21s age group, which would become the top tier of the nation's professional development phase. The move would align England's structure to that used in other European countries to allow for more age-appropriate games and better manage individual player development post-U20 World Cup for those who have genuine senior team potential. The then U20s manager Mo Marley was announced as head coach.

Return of U-23 level (2021)

In October 2021, the FA announced the return of an under-23 team as newly appointed senior manager Sarina Wiegman looked to increase international playing opportunities for promising players in the senior pathway, particularly those who had aged out of the under-21 squad. Mo Marley was appointed head coach and tasked with also mentoring Emma Coates and Fara Williams as coaches.[6] The move came off the back of the cancellation of two editions of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship and one FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, further limiting opportunities for youth international experience.[7]

Current players

The following 24 players were named to the squad for friendlies against  Netherlands and  Italy in November 2022.[8]

Head coach: Mo Marley

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
	1GK	Emily Ramsey	(2000-11-16) 16 November 2000 (age 21)	Everton (loan)
	1GK	Kayla Rendell	(2001-06-29) 29 June 2001 (age 21)	Southampton
	1GK	Lucy Thomas	(2000-03-21) 21 March 2000 (age 22)	Birmingham City
	2DF	Asmita Ale	(2001-11-03) 3 November 2001 (age 21)	Tottenham Hotspur
	2DF	Tara Bourne	(2003-07-16) 16 July 2003 (age 19)	Birmingham City (loan)
	2DF	Jorja Fox	(2003-08-28) 28 August 2003 (age 19)	Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)
	2DF	Freya Gregory	(2003-01-12) 12 January 2003 (age 19)	Aston Villa
	2DF	Anna Patten	(1999-04-20) 20 April 1999 (age 23)	Aston Villa (loan)
	2DF	Poppy Pattinson	(2000-04-30) 30 April 2000 (age 22)	Brighton & Hove Albion
	2DF	Paige Peake	(2002-08-03) 3 August 2002 (age 20)	Southampton
	2DF	Mia Ross	(2003-04-28) 28 April 2003 (age 19)	Charlton Athletic
	2DF	Kiera Skeels	(2001-11-20) 20 November 2001 (age 20)	Charlton Athletic
	3MF	Laura Blindkilde	(2003-09-09) 9 September 2003 (age 19)	Aston Villa
	3MF	Missy Bo Kearns	(2001-04-14) 14 April 2001 (age 21)	Liverpool
	3MF	Melisa Filis	(2002-07-30) 30 July 2002 (age 20)	West Ham United
	3MF	Ruby Grant	(2002-04-15) 15 April 2002 (age 20)	North Carolina Tar Heels
	3MF	Molly Pike	(2001-01-22) 22 January 2001 (age 21)	Leicester City
	3MF	Charlotte Wardlaw	(2003-02-20) 20 February 2003 (age 19)	Liverpool (loan)
	4FW	Angela Addison	(1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 22)	Charlton Athletic
	4FW	Aggie Beever-Jones	(2003-07-27) 27 July 2003 (age 19)	Everton (loan)
	4FW	Grace Clinton	(2003-03-31) 31 March 2003 (age 19)	Manchester United
	4FW	Jessica Naz	(2000-09-24) 24 September 2000 (age 22)	Tottenham Hotspur
	4FW	Shannon O'Brien	(2001-10-05) 5 October 2001 (age 21)	Leicester City
	4FW	Jess Park	(2001-10-21) 21 October 2001 (age 21)	Everton (loan)

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the England squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Fran Bentley	(2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 21)	-	-	Bristol City	v.  Sweden, 10 October 2022
GK	Khiara Keating	(2004-06-27) 27 June 2004 (age 18)	-	-	Manchester City	v.  Norway, 2 September 2022
GK	Sandy MacIver	(1998-06-18) 18 June 1998 (age 24)	-	-	Manchester City	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
GK	Fran Stenson	(2001-04-27) 27 April 2001 (age 21)	-	-	Birmingham City (loan)	v.  France, 20 February 2022
DF	Anouk Denton	(2003-05-09) 9 May 2003 (age 19)	-	-	Louisville Cardinals	v.  Sweden, 10 October 2022
DF	Maya Le Tissier	(2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 (age 20)	-	-	Manchester United	v.  Sweden, 10 October 2022
DF	Niamh Charles	(1999-06-21) 21 June 1999 (age 23)	-	-	Chelsea	v.  Norway, 2 September 2022
DF	Taylor Hinds	(1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 (age 23)	-	-	Liverpool	v.  Norway, 2 September 2022
DF	Megan Finnigan	(1998-04-02) 2 April 1998 (age 24)	-	-	Everton	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
DF	Grace Fisk	(1998-01-05) 5 January 1998 (age 24)	-	-	West Ham United	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
DF	Gabrielle George	(1997-02-02) 2 February 1997 (age 25)	-	-	Everton	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
DF	Mayumi Pacheco	(1998-08-25) 25 August 1998 (age 24)	-	-	Aston Villa	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
DF	Lucy Parker	(1998-11-18) 18 November 1998 (age 23)	-	-	West Ham United	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
FW	Ellie Brazil	(1999-01-10) 10 January 1999 (age 23)	-	-	Tottenham Hotspur	v.  Sweden, 10 October 2022
FW	Katie Robinson	(2002-08-08) 8 August 2002 (age 20)	-	-	Brighton & Hove Albion	v.  Sweden, 10 October 2022
FW	Rinsola Babajide	(1998-06-17) 17 June 1998 (age 24)	-	-	Real Betis	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
FW	Emma Harries	(2002-03-29) 29 March 2002 (age 20)	-	-	Reading	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
FW	Lauren James	(2001-09-29) 29 September 2001 (age 21)	-	-	Chelsea	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
FW	Ebony Salmon	(2001-01-27) 27 January 2001 (age 21)	-	-	Houston Dash	v.  Netherlands, 11 April 2022
FW	Jodie Hutton	(2001-02-11) 11 February 2001 (age 21)	-	-	Bristol City	v.  Estonia, 30 November 2021

Recent schedule and results

2021

2022

Coaches

• Liz Deighan (1987–1992)
• Brent Hills (2004–2013)
• Marieanne Spacey (2013–2018)
• Mo Marley (2021–present)

References

Bibliography

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