There's no doubt the Lionesses had a triumphant summer, but it was followed by key player retirements and plagued with injuries that would call for a squad rotation and development of the younger players.
Manchester City 's Lauren Hemp, Arsenal's Jordan Nobbs and Lionesses captain Leah Williamson were among those unavailable for the trip to Spain in the latest international break in November that left room for newcomers to prove their worth.
Manager Sarina Wiegman said: "We have now eight months to prepare for the World Cup and what we want to see is where are the young players now.
"Hopefully they can compete really quickly and give us some headaches to make decisions.” And that they did.
At only 22 years old, Esme Morgan is a potential for the England's captain's armband in the future, according to Manchester City Manager Gareth Taylor, even though she hadn’t broken into the senior squad until October this year.
But he entrusted her quality and handed her the armband for the first time in the Women's Super League fixtures against Reading, where she also kept a clean sheet in their 3-0 victory and again versus Everton, to lead the Citizens to a 2-1 victory.
He said: “She’s one of four captains we have at the club, chosen by the players: Steph [Houghton], Alex [Greenwood], Vicky [Losada] and Esme.
“I have always said with Esme that I think she’s a future England captain. She’s going to go right to the top with what she’s capable of doing and her work ethic.”
Although deemed a strong and promising youngster, she did not make the starting XI for the derby at the Etihad, and it’s not the first time she's been left out. Morgan missed out on selection for the home Euros due to injury but two months after her return, Sarina Wiegman picked up the phone.
Morgan’s first taste of international duty at the senior level came against the Czech Republic when she replaced Millie Bright with half an hour to go and was called up again in the latest bout of international friendlies.
The defender started the next game at centre back for England’s 4-0 win over Japan and featured throughout the second half in exchange for Millie Bright in the 1-1 tie against Norway.
A true, through and through Citizen fan, holding a season ticket since the age of three, Morgan is one to keep an eye on at both club and international levels for a promising future; especially if her fan chant is anything to go by.
On the other side of the city, Manchester United entre back Maya Le Tissier is the latest to join six other Reds in the England squad. She signed for United in the summer from Hope Powell’s Brighton and Hove Albion and scored two goals on her debut against Reading in their 4-0 victory. But that isn’t why she was picked to represent her country at the senior level.
For her club, Le Tissier hit the ground running - starting every game and playing a key role in keeping Aston Villa’s threat of Rachel Daly and City’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw quiet in their league fixtures of late. She’s a fan favourite and gets the nod of approval from manager Marc Skinner as she ‘grows and develops’ further each passing week.
Sarina Wiegman eluded that she hadn't wanted a goal-scoring defender so the 20-year-old missed out on the opportunity against the USA and Norway in October. She said: “Maya did very good [against Reading] it’s really nice that she scored but her main job is not scoring, it’s defending, it’s the build-up.
“She did very well but the other players did a little bit more. We are watching her, she’s in the under-23s, there are lots of very good players in the under-23s ready to come in.”
Eventually, the phone rang for the 20-year-old defender as she was named for the friendly against Japan but didn’t see game time until four days later in the 1-1 draw against Norway. Le Tissier started her England senior debut at right-back alongside Bright and saw out the full 90 minutes.
After the game, she told Sky Sports: "It's what dreams are made of - moving to Man Utd and having a good start to the season. Of course, getting my first call-up is unbelievable so I'm really pleased.”
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