England defender Esme Morgan has revealed she missed a phone call from manager Sarina Wiegman to tell her she had made the World Cup squad.
The Man City defender was one of the Lionesses' contingent anxiously waiting to see if she would be going to her first major tournament, in the weeks following the end of the club season. Morgan will provide Wiegman an option across the back four when the competition begins next month, with England's first game against Haiti on July 22.
But Morgan has now said she actually missed the first call from the England coaches, instead preparing for her end-of-season holiday.
"I actually missed the first call," Morgan told Sky Sports Football. "I was just about to go on holiday and had a last-minute Zara delivery coming.
"So I went to the door to collect it and came back, checked my phone and had a missed call from Sarina (Wiegman) and Arjen (Veurink - England Women assistant coach).
"I was like, 'No!' but minutes later they called again, thank goodness. And I was like, 'Sorry I missed you, I was getting my delivery!'"
Morgan has had something of a breakthrough season at international level, making the majority of Wiegman's squads this term. But she still had doubts over her inclusion at the World Cup.
The City defender started England's last game, a 2-0 defeat to Australia that ended Wiegman's unbeaten run since taking charge of the Lionesses. But Morgan was critical of her performance and felt she had missed an opportunity to show what she can do.
"I was so disappointed with how I played in that Australia game," she added. "When you get opportunities like that you just want to do your absolute best.
"Although I tried my best my output wasn't anywhere close to where I wanted it to be. So I was disheartened after that and it did knock my confidence quite a bit but I built it back up at my club.
"But there was definitely a doubt about whether they'd keep their trust in me after a poor performance. I was a bit anxious beforehand (the squad announcement) because you see stuff on social media of people's predicted squads. You're in some of them, not in others and I'm thinking, 'Gosh, I hope Sarina thinks like the ones that have me in'.
"I've got a good relationship with her and thought I played quite well towards the end of the season so I just had to hope it was enough."
Morgan's chances of starting this summer could be aided by captain Leah Williamson's absence in defence. Alex Greenwood is likely to be deployed at centre-half, meaning there is an open slot at left-back with Chelsea's Jess Carter and Niamh Charles also in contention.
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