Bethany England admits she “screamed the house down” when she found out the “big risk” of her mid-season transfer from Chelsea to Tottenham had paid off with a recall for this summer’s World Cup.
Having been part of the England squad that won the Euros last July and played in subsequent matches in September, the 29-year-old forward then found herself being omitted by boss Sarina Wiegman.
England was seeing limited game time for Chelsea, starting only twice in the Women’s Super League for the champions in the first half of the season, and she moved to Tottenham in January.
She went on to register 12 goals in as many league starts for Spurs, and a return to the international fold followed as on May 31 she was included in Wiegman’s 23-player group for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that gets under way next month.
On her reaction to the recall, England said: “It was amazing for me.
“I think I’d done everything I could to get put in this position. I worked as best as I could, I was scoring the goals, so the question was just left to Sarina.
“I got the call, tried to play it nice and cool – but I hung up the phone and screamed the house down!
“The first thing I did was ring my mum, ring my partner. Obviously I was elated, it’s been a long time since I’ve been back in this environment. It’s just a pleasure to be back here wearing the badge and I’m really excited for the summer.”
England, who has 11 goals in 21 caps, added: “I think the situation I was in (at Chelsea), I wasn’t getting used, I was stuck on the bench and as Sarina said, rightly, I wasn’t getting picked (for England) because I wasn’t playing the minutes.
“It was up to me to make sure I was not only getting the minutes but making them count and I think I did that at Spurs. I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to go out and play and be happy again.
“Ultimately it’s my career and I had to take it into my own hands and make sure that I put myself in the best position.
“I think it was just first and foremost I want to be back on the pitch, playing minutes and scoring and I’m glad I did that.
“Obviously at the back of my mind the World Cup was creeping up, I’d not been selected for a couple of camps leading into Christmas. Every player wants to be part of these big moments representing your country, going to big tournaments, so I think that was definitely a key factor in it.
“But ultimately, I think in myself I knew that I wasn’t happy. I knew that I’d been in a situation where it was going on for too long and I needed to make change.
“Change can be scary and I’ve never dealt well with change, but luckily I hit the ground running and I’m just thankful that it turned out well.”
England left Chelsea having been with them since 2016, netted 74 times for the club and won multiple trophies.
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 20, 2023
“It was a big risk, I’d been at Chelsea for seven years, that was a big part of my professional career and I didn’t really like the thought of change,” she said.
“But ultimately I didn’t want to be sat in a position where I didn’t try to give my everything to go. I could have stayed at Chelsea, could have stayed on the bench, in my comfort zone. But then I’d have been watching other people going out there to Australia, when I know it’s something I would have regretted looking back on.
“So I’m glad the risk paid off – and even if it didn’t and I didn’t come, I could have at least looked at myself in the mirror knowing I did everything I could to put myself on that flight.”
