Published 05 October 2022 3 min read
England Women's Senior Team
Jess Park speaks of her 'privilege' at being in England squad
Lionesses' new girl speaks about her first senior call-up, how she's settling in and England ambitions
Jess Park admits she was left speechless when she saw her name in the England Women’s senior squad for the first time.
The 20 year old winger had previously been involved with Mo Marley’s WU23 squad and was expecting to be named among that group to face Norway and Sweden.
But after catching the eye of Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman with her BWSL performances at Everton, where she’s on loan from Manchester City this season, she was picked in the squad to face USA and Czech Republic.
"It did catch me off guard and surprise me quite a bit,” admitted Park, after her second day of training with the squad.
"It was a big thing for me to go out on loan but I wanted to play minutes, so being able to do that, I want to show what I'm really about and I just want to keep that going.
The 20 year old winger had previously been involved with Mo Marley’s WU23 squad and was expecting to be named among that group to face Norway and Sweden.
But after catching the eye of Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman with her BWSL performances at Everton, where she’s on loan from Manchester City this season, she was picked in the squad to face USA and Czech Republic.
"It did catch me off guard and surprise me quite a bit,” admitted Park, after her second day of training with the squad.
"It was a big thing for me to go out on loan but I wanted to play minutes, so being able to do that, I want to show what I'm really about and I just want to keep that going.
“I didn't think [the call-up] it would happen right now, but I feel so privileged to be involved and it's been great, I didn't expect it to be this good.
"I'd thought of an image of what it might look like with the seniors but now that I'm here, I'm really appreciative to be involved.”
Park, who grew up in Brough just outside Hull, started her football journey learning the game and honing her skills in the local park with her friends before joining grassroots club Elloughton Blackburn FC.
Playing in boys’ football to start with from U7 through to U10s, she eventually joined a girls’ team at the Hull College centre of excellence before moving to the North Yorkshire centre of excellence and eventually York City RTC.
And she admits that representing England is something she had always hoped to do.
"I'd thought of an image of what it might look like with the seniors but now that I'm here, I'm really appreciative to be involved.”
Park, who grew up in Brough just outside Hull, started her football journey learning the game and honing her skills in the local park with her friends before joining grassroots club Elloughton Blackburn FC.
Playing in boys’ football to start with from U7 through to U10s, she eventually joined a girls’ team at the Hull College centre of excellence before moving to the North Yorkshire centre of excellence and eventually York City RTC.
And she admits that representing England is something she had always hoped to do.
"Ever since being a little kid, you've seen the girls playing for England and I’ve been like 'I want to do that',” she revealed.
“I’d be talking about it with my friends but I never thought I'd get the opportunity to be here so it's great.
"It's a massive opportunity for me and just a great time to be here and show what I've got to offer and get to know the girls a little bit more.
"I'm usually quite calm in situations, so there wasn’t really any nerves, but all of the girls have been helping me settle in and making sure I'm getting to the right places at the right time and showing me around.
"It's been great for me so far and I'm really enjoying it.”
“I’d be talking about it with my friends but I never thought I'd get the opportunity to be here so it's great.
"It's a massive opportunity for me and just a great time to be here and show what I've got to offer and get to know the girls a little bit more.
"I'm usually quite calm in situations, so there wasn’t really any nerves, but all of the girls have been helping me settle in and making sure I'm getting to the right places at the right time and showing me around.
"It's been great for me so far and I'm really enjoying it.”
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