Lionesses striker Beth England revealed that her goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United in February was a message to England manager Sarina Wiegman after the striker was snubbed ahead of the Arnold Clark Cup.
The 28-year-old had failed to clock any minutes at the European Championships last summer as the Lionesses claimed a first-ever major trophy. After falling further down the pecking order at Chelsea under Emma Hayes at the start of the 2022/23 season, England’s exile from the national set-up looked all but certain as she was consistently overlooked.
The threat saw England swap reigning champions Chelsea for relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur in January of last season for a domestic record transfer fee in a bid to force herself back into Wiegman’s eye line ahead of the summer’s Women’s World Cup.
Spurs had managed just 11 league goals in the season’s first half with eight arriving in one match against Brighton & Hove Albion, but England’s impact was instant, with the striker finding the back of the net three times in her first four appearances.
Ye the return was not enough and England was once again left out of Wiegman’s squad for February’s Arnold Clark Cup tournament.
And the striker has said that the latest snub was difficult to take, and her strike against United 15 minutes from time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a salient message to the Lionesses boss.
“I went and scored that goal against Manchester United from the halfway line and I think that was my-have-some-of-that moment, which doesn’t sound great but it was more like, I know that I’m good enough,” England reflected while at a media day with the Lionesses ahead of the World Cup.
“Equally though I had to balance a little bit more on not focussing too much on what was going on here because ultimately if I didn’t do the job at club level, I wouldn’t be here. So no matter what happened it was either meant to be or it wasn’t and thankfully it was.”
England racked up a stunning 11 goals in 13 appearances for Spurs, seeing her pip Chelsea’s Sam Kerr for third in the season’s WSL’s top goal scorers’ list.
The tally marks a sensational return on investment, but England admitted to feeling a culture shock upon her initial move, with the emotional toll of a relegation battle representing new territory.
“I’d never been in a relegation battle before so that was a first for me. And I can honestly say… when you’ve got something to lose from it, it’s difficult not to let the emotional side affect you.
“For us, we were fighting day by day but at Chelsea, you’re so used to being in a position where you’re winning that I’d not been in a position like that in a long time.”
