Five things you may have missed from episode two of That Lionesses Podcast

The second episode of That Lionesses Podcast connected by EE is now available across all major podcast providers as England duo Esme Morgan and Aggie Beever-Jones join Harriet Rose for another instalment of the newly launched series.

If you haven’t yet had chance to tune in, here are five talking points from episode two to listen out for.

Tournament preparations underway

Having been in around the senior environment since 2022 when she received her first call-up, making her debut in October 2022, Morgan – who was a part of Sarina Wiegman’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad – gave an insight into her personal preparations for this summer’s tournament.

“I feel like I’ve always approached things kind of the same, just trying to understand my role in the team, working hard every day, constantly trying to review things, improve, find learnings,” she explained.

“I think I can draw on experiences from previous major tournaments like at the World Cup – the noise inside the stadiums was just incredible and I feel like that experience helped to prepare me for what might be to come in future.”

Handled it like a pro! 🥶

Episode two of #ThatLionessesPodcast connected by @EE with @_esmemorgan and @AggieBjones is LIVE! 👇

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 6, 2025

The development pathway

As for Beever-Jones, the Chelsea forward talked through her experiences of playing for the Young Lionesses. The 21 year old, who has represented England at under-15s level right through to under-23s, is using her time with the development teams to help her to settle into life with the senior side when they head to Switzerland.

“I’m quite lucky,” she said. “I came through the pathway at England, so I feel like the transition is always a little bit easier, just because I think at the U23s, they prep you for the moments when you do obviously get the call up.

“But I think for me, I’m just trying to be a sponge in this environment. I feel like I’m still quite young, and I’m learning a lot, and I think I’ve been in the setup for nearly a year now. I think each camp I’m still learning, still learning off people on and off the pitch and just making sure I’m ready for whatever happens really.”

A word of advice

UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 marks a first major tournament for seven players included in Wiegman’s 23-player squad – one of those being Beever-Jones. With that milestone in mind, Lionesses team-mate Morgan offered some wise words of guidance.

“You play at Stamford Bridge in front of tens and thousands, so it’s not going to be anything out of the ordinary, but I think when it’s an international tournament and you’re hearing your anthems and the passion of your own supporters, it’s really special and a goosebumps feeling,” said Morgan.

“But I feel like that’s something that just drives you and you kind of thrive on as professional athletes. We live for those precious situations and they’re the most fun games to play in, so Ags just has to do what she does best, score goals, take people on, be confident and she’ll be absolutely fine.”

Esme’s studies

But for Morgan, it’s not just on the pitch where she’s still learning, it’s off the pitch too. The defender spoke of her studies, having stepped back into education at Manchester Metropolitan University to embark on a Sport and Exercise Science degree.

And she admitted she sometimes uses her education to impress on camp while touching on the difficulty of balancing her studies and her footballing career.

“Sometimes I’ll come out with medical terms for muscles,” she said. “Like vastus medialis is one of your quadricep muscles, and I said it the other day and one of the girls was like ‘meh’. But it helps when I’m talking to the physios because then I can be specific about where I’m feeling pain. They’re like, ‘we’re on the same page here’, so that’s really helpful.”

Meal planning and the menstrual cycle

And as the conversation turned to the importance of nutrition and the role it plays in training routines, Morgan opened up a conversation about meal plans around the menstrual cycle.

“It’s really important because it’s not something that you’re taught at a young age and if I wasn’t in the football environment, I wouldn’t know it at all so we’re really lucky that we get access to experts in this field who can educate us on these things,” explained Morgan.

“And in the first phase of your period, your inflammatory responses are really high so you need tonnes of anti-inflammatory foods, loads of fish, loads of fruit and stuff like that. So having that knowledge and being able to make a conscious effort to increase intake of certain things is so helpful.”