Published 10 August 2023 5 min read
England Women's Senior Team
World Cup Diary: Family time, table tennis champions and a World Cup quarter-final
After the game on Monday, we stayed in Brisbane for the night and could see our friends and family at the hotel.
It was really nice spending time with them, especially because a lot of the girls' friends and family know each other too.
It's amazing for us to be out here as players and representing England at a World Cup, but it's equally as amazing for our friends and family who are able to come to such a beautiful country to watch and support.
On Tuesday, we got up and headed back to Terrigal to get back to our base camp, so that day was mostly taken up by the flight and the coach journey.
Wednesday was then a day off, where we took our minds off football as much as possible and explored a different environment.
We went out for breakfast and then a couple of my friends who are over here working for the World Cup came up to visit from Sydney.
It was really nice spending time with them, especially because a lot of the girls' friends and family know each other too.
It's amazing for us to be out here as players and representing England at a World Cup, but it's equally as amazing for our friends and family who are able to come to such a beautiful country to watch and support.
On Tuesday, we got up and headed back to Terrigal to get back to our base camp, so that day was mostly taken up by the flight and the coach journey.
Wednesday was then a day off, where we took our minds off football as much as possible and explored a different environment.
We went out for breakfast and then a couple of my friends who are over here working for the World Cup came up to visit from Sydney.
09 Aug 2023
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A few of us girls then had a beach day and watched the sunset come in – it was so nice.
Watching the sunset might not be a completely new experience obviously but it's definitely less frequent at home and considering I live in Manchester, it’s definitely less cloudy here!
Today, we got back to work and started preparing for Colombia. After the usual things like wellness, the prep meeting and strappings, we had a training session and did some work in the gym and some recovery.
After training and lunch, I enjoyed sitting on my balcony for a while before heading to the media centre for our media duties ahead of the game.
Then after dinner, some relaxation is on the cards. The FA have done an amazing job with the hotel because there are so many activities to do so you never feel bored. There is always something going on.
When there's no game on the television, we find ourselves involved in various activities. I do enjoy a game of table tennis and I've been trying to improve my darts skills, but think I'd need another year here for me to be any good!
Watching the sunset might not be a completely new experience obviously but it's definitely less frequent at home and considering I live in Manchester, it’s definitely less cloudy here!
Today, we got back to work and started preparing for Colombia. After the usual things like wellness, the prep meeting and strappings, we had a training session and did some work in the gym and some recovery.
After training and lunch, I enjoyed sitting on my balcony for a while before heading to the media centre for our media duties ahead of the game.
Then after dinner, some relaxation is on the cards. The FA have done an amazing job with the hotel because there are so many activities to do so you never feel bored. There is always something going on.
When there's no game on the television, we find ourselves involved in various activities. I do enjoy a game of table tennis and I've been trying to improve my darts skills, but think I'd need another year here for me to be any good!
The staff are all very good at darts while table tennis is a real mixed bag. We’ve got some girls who think they are the reigning champions, but they won't play any matches!
For example, Niamh Charles is a match dodger! She and Hempo have an ongoing rivalry. We’ve been here for five or six weeks and were at St. George’s Park before that and they are still yet to have a match! That has to be a stat of the century! Maybe we need a table tennis tournament to decide the real winner!
Tomorrow is all about our matchday-minus-one training. Everything we do, from possession to shooting to small-sided games, is fun.
After that, we'll head down to Sydney because we always make sure we travel the day ahead of the game so we can get prepared, relax and have a good sleep.
I'm really excited about the match. It's my first-ever major tournament so to be in a World Cup quarter-final, you couldn't really ask for much more.
There are a lot of girls here who have never been to a World Cup, so it's so exciting to be testing ourselves against some really incredible teams.
For example, Niamh Charles is a match dodger! She and Hempo have an ongoing rivalry. We’ve been here for five or six weeks and were at St. George’s Park before that and they are still yet to have a match! That has to be a stat of the century! Maybe we need a table tennis tournament to decide the real winner!
Tomorrow is all about our matchday-minus-one training. Everything we do, from possession to shooting to small-sided games, is fun.
After that, we'll head down to Sydney because we always make sure we travel the day ahead of the game so we can get prepared, relax and have a good sleep.
I'm really excited about the match. It's my first-ever major tournament so to be in a World Cup quarter-final, you couldn't really ask for much more.
There are a lot of girls here who have never been to a World Cup, so it's so exciting to be testing ourselves against some really incredible teams.
Match Centre: England v Colombia