Ubogagu in line for debut

Anyone who has ever tried to usher children to bed on Christmas Eve can empathise with the plight of England Women manager Phil Neville when it came to welcoming Chioma Ubogagu to St George’s Park this week ahead of the friendlies against Austria tonight and Sweden on Sunday.

The former Arsenal forward was the standout name when Neville announced his squad last week.

Ubogagu, on loan at Brisbane Roar from Orlando Pride, flew to England from Sydney and arrived at the national football centre in Burton on Monday, when she met the England squad for the first time. A video of her arrival, posted on the Lionesses’ Twitter account, has been viewed over 40,000 times.

“She probably hasn’t slept in 42 hours and we did an arrival plan for her,” said Neville. “Part of that was to go to bed and she didn’t go to bed – she was too excited. My players have been fantastic with her and she said she feels at home after just 24 hours here. The plan is to give her an England debut this week.

“She’s impressed me. We haven’t got a left-sided player with a left foot going forward, so she offers us something we haven’t got. These two games are a great chance to stake a claim to go to a World Cup. That’s what I’ve said to her.”

London-born Ubogagu, 26, moved to Texas as a child and has represented the United States at youth levels, winning the 2012 Fifa Under-20s Women’s World Cup.

England