Ness aims to to show that she is for real
Zoe Ness hopes she can stake an early World Cup claim against Iceland in La Manga tomorrow.
The 22-year-old striker, who was born to Scottish parents in Durham, was a prolific scorer at age-group levels.
She once hit five goals in 25 first-half minutes against Georgia, and her overall record was 11 in 12 games for the Under17s, and 19 in 25 for the Under-19s. The last three years have been more difficult, trying to break into a senior squad which qualified for Euro 2017, and now this summer’s World Cup. The main striker is West Ham’s Jane Ross, who has found the net 57 times in 122 internationals.
Ness was called up in 2016, but got no game time under Anna Signeul.
She also missed out on the Euros, but made her debut under Shelley Kerr as a late sub against New Zealand last March. Her third substitute appearance, against Poland the following month, saw her grab the first of three late goals which kept World Cup qualifying hopes alive.
“I need to start getting more games and minutes,” said Ness. “That’s something I’m hoping for against Iceland.
“I think I offer something slightly different that can change things. I’m quite strong and can hold the ball up well and bring others into the game.
“There are obviously aspects I need to work on, but I’m confident of being able to strike the ball with both feet.”
Ness has played most of her football with Durham, although she did spend a couple of seasons at Mallbackens in Sweden.
Durham currently sit fourth in the FA Championship, four points behind leaders Spurs, who they hammered 6-1 away last month, with Ness getting one of the goals.
“We are competing against clubs that have got much bigger budgets, but our success is down to the hard work behind the scenes,” Ness explained. Despite being born in the north of England, Ness has no doubt where her allegiance lies.
“All of my family are Scottish,” she said. “They moved down to Durham because of my dad’s job as a mechanical engineer.
“There was a spell where I could have potentially joined the England set-up, but I stuck with Scotland.
“Just look at my name – everyone associates it with the monster and Scotland.”