Rachel Daly has defended England’s long and controversial buildup to the Women’s World Cup, describing the squad coming together more than a month before their opening match as “perfect”.
The Lionesses arrived at their St George’s Park base on Monday and had their first training session on Tuesday in preparation for a warm-up game against Portugal in Milton Keynes on 1 July. Players and staff fly to a training camp on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on 5 July in advance of facing Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July. That means they will have been together for a somewhat remarkable 33 days before kicking their first competitive ball in anger in Australia – something that has caused outrage among Women’s Super League clubs, who feel their England players were bullied into accepting the 19 June meet-up date by the Football Association.
Daly has insisted that was not the case, stating that every member of the squad was more than happy to join up when requested to do so by the FA, having had more than three weeks off after the WSL season. “For me it’s perfect, and the girls agreed on that,” the 31-year-old said. “We’ve had enough time to have a rest and have a holiday, completely switch off mentally and physically.
“It’s scientifically proven; it’s not just picking a date and all of us joining up. This date has been planned since the Euros, I’m sure, by the backroom staff in regards to the physical side of things. I feel like we’re in a great spot.”
All 23 members of Sarina Wiegman’s squad, and the three reserves, are at St George’s Park, with only the stand-in captain Millie Bright and Jordan Nobbs missing training. Both underwent individual programmes as they continue their recovery from knee surgery and a minor injury respectively.
The session, which was open to the media on a grey and wet morning, was sharp and competitive, something Daly believes reflects the healthy state England find themselves in as they seek to add a world title to the European one secured on home soil 11 months ago. At the very least they want to reach the final, which takes place in Sydney on 20 August, having reached the semi-finals at the World Cup in France four years ago.
“This squad is completely different [to 2019],” Daly said. “We’ve got injuries, we’ve had players retiring and now we’ve got young faces and new people, and with that we’ve got great depth. Sarina’s picked a fantastic squad and the really good thing about this squad is that everyone’s able to step up.”
No one looks more ready to step up at the World Cup than Daly. She was named WSL player of the season after a sensational debut campaign for Aston Villa during which she scored 22 goals and provided six assists for Carla Ward’s side, becoming the first English winner of the golden boot since Ellen White in 2018.
“I’ve had a pretty good year,” the left-back-come-striker said. “I can put it down to happiness; the way Carla’s given me freedom at the club to play my own game. The team around me has also been brilliant. It’s probably the best season I’ve had in my career.”
