Euro ace Leah up for world success
ENGLAND skipper Leah Williamson is dreaming of adding the World Cup to the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 success.
A point against Austria in their penultimate qualifier next month will secure the Group D leaders’ passage to the finals in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 – where Arsenal’s Williamson will hope once again to lift silverware.
Asked if England could win the World Cup, the defender, 25, said: “Before the Euros we had a dream and we focused on it every day to then even get in a position to go and be able to do it.
“Then once we got to that final, obviously we just made sure we turned up and brought it home.
“I think with the World Cup it will be the same.
“From now until then it’s a dream – of course it’s a dream – but everybody who goes there will want to win it.
“It’s the big boy, isn’t it? We need to be ready.”
Williamson, under manager Sarina Wiegman, led the Lionesses to their first major title in front of a crowd of 87,192 at Wembley last month when they beat Germany 2-1 in extra time.
But she knows repeating the feat Down Under, where the United States will be hoping to win the title for a third successive time, would represent an even bigger achievement.
She added: “I’d probably retire, just pack it in there.”
England’s march to Euros glory captured the imagination of the public.
However, Williamson insists there is much work still to be done.
She said: “There’s so much more room for growth that we have to just keep pushing so that when we do something like this, it does feel like more than a trophy.
“It’s not just 90 minutes on the pitch, it’s an everyday choice that we make to commit to growing the game.”