Harbert: 'I’m learning lots on and off the pitch'

England women’s under-23s starlet Laila Harbert is hoping her loan spell across the pond could help plot a route to the Lionesses senior squad one day.

The midfielder, who was called up for her first WU23s camp, has spent the last two months at Portland Thorns.

Having joined the club on a temporary agreement from Arsenal for the remainder of the NWSL campaign back in August, the 18 year old has been on a learning curve which has extended to her cultural education.

“I’m learning lots on and off the pitch about the American lifestyle,” she explained.

“It's a different experience and one that isn’t necessarily done but in terms of the next steps for me, I felt that it developed me and challenged me in getting closer to where I want to be.

“It was definitely a move that, socially and for my confidence on and off the pitch, has developed me.

“It’s the first division out there, so it’s a high standard of players and it’s very competitive. Every game is like a final. If you win a game, you can be third and if you lose, you can be ninth by the end of the evening. The players that I’m surrounded by are all internationals with lots of senior experience.

“All the away games, we travel to some unreal places. Playing Gotham, you go to New York and Orlando in Florida, and it’s been an amazing experience.

“Every game is like an event. We don’t wear travel kit, you wear your own clothes, so it’s like a dress-up. Everyone brings their best game and I definitely didn’t bring the attire for that, so I had to go shopping.

“They’re all very energetic, lively people off the pitch as well. They were definitely intrigued as to what us English get up to.”

And after touching back down in the UK to join up with the Young Lionesses – a journey covering some 5,000 miles – a slightly jetlagged Harbert was craving some home comforts.

“I’m quite superstitious and have my preparation but they don’t have baked beans!” she laughed. “They think it’s bizarre that we have beans. They just can’t get their head around it, so when I said, ‘do you have beans on toast for pre-match?’ they were like, ‘what?’

“They have a world market in Portland which sells international food and there’s a section where they sell Heinz stuff, so I literally went in there and bought about 50 dollars’ worth of beans. I’m not even joking. That’s for the home games and then for the away games, they have to put it in the request for the hotel.”

Harbert follows in the footsteps of her Arsenal team-mates Michelle Agyemang and Katie Reid – both of whom were named in Sarina Wiegman’s latest Lionesses squad – in playing up a year with the WU23s, with the trio having also been loaned out to Watford together.

And despite being forced to withdraw through injury, Reid, along with Lucia Kendall who was also rewarded with her first senior call-up, serve as inspiration to Harbert.

“It’s a really exciting time, especially with some of the girls making the step up to the senior team,” she continued. “It’s a nice place to be as a young player, at England right now.

“I’ve played with the likes of Luce [Lucia Kendall], Katie Reid and Michelle [Agyemang] at club and country.

“Sarina has trust in the young players and it shows how well connected the pathway to the seniors is. I think they’re all incredible players and I’m really proud of them. It’s definitely deserved.”

Emma Coates’ side kick off the 2025-26 campaign against Germany in the WU23 European competition tonight (5.15pm BST kick-off), before playing Portugal at Sixfields Stadium – home of Northampton Town – on Monday 27 October (7pm BST kick-off).

“We need to start strong and set the tone to go to Northampton on Monday to play Portugal,” she explained.

“I’m really excited because it’ll be my first home game in quite a long time. It’ll be really nice to have some friends and family there as well and hopefully a good crowd to get behind us.

“I’m going to have to ask for extra tickets because my family really want to see me, considering I’ve been out in the States for a few months. It’ll be the first time that I’m back for a while.”

The teenager has already built up an impressive CV with England. Having reached the semi-final of the 2023 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, Harbert and the Young Lionesses went one better the following year in Sweden, making it all the way to the final.

4th in the world. Naturally disappointed to lose out on a medal at the very end but a month of valuable lessons , challenges and memories that will last forever with my people 🫶🏻 pic.twitter.com/e23x2qxGXW

— Laila Harbert (@LailaHarbert) November 6, 2024

And Harbert wore the armband later in the year as the WU17s made the final four at the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup.

“I’m definitely proud of my journey so far,” she noted. “I would say it’s been quite a smooth transition through the age groups. Across all the age groups, we’ve got a clear style of play and as a nation as a whole. All of the staff are very connected to Sarina’s mentality and way of playing.

“It paves the way for us to come in and show that there’s a clear pathway to the top. I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully earn the right like they did to get to the seniors.”