Lotte Wubben-Moy: What it means to be a Lioness

“We’re standing on the shoulders of giants.”

As the England Lionesses prepare for their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Iceland in April, they are also getting ready to be part of an historic landmark for the team.

The match at Iceland on Saturday 18th April will be the 500th in the history of the England Women’s team.

And for Lotte Wubben-Moy, she feels a huge sense of pride and privilege to “stand on the shoulders of giants” who built the England Lionesses’ legacy, from their first match in 1972 through to the teams that led up to the EURO 2022 and EURO 2025 winning squads that she was part of.

After helping England win EURO 2022, Wubben-Moy led calls for all young girls to be given the opportunity to play football at school, with an open letter to the UK Government. And this led to the Government pledging to create equal school sport opportunities for girls.

So the 27-year-old, who has won 16 caps for England, knows what it means on and off the pitch.

“I think when you put an England shirt on, you're part of a legacy that speaks beyond just what you do on the football pitch in 90 minutes,” she said in a press conference, which you can watch in full on the England app.

“We're obviously coming up to celebrating the 500th game for the Lionesses and to be able to stand on the shoulders of giants is, yeah, I feel fortunate, I feel very privileged in that sense.

“But even more so to have been able to contribute to the growth of the game and contribute to an evolution of England women’s football, which, in my time, has seen a progression to becoming Lionesses.

“And I think that within itself, to be able to embody a noun like that, Lionesses, you know, like you're part of a pack, you're part of a group of people that you're able to be yourself in.

“You're able to come out of this box that I think we so often put ourselves in as football players. And I definitely feel that on the daily being part of the Lionesses and, yeah, going into this 500th game, it's a weight that we feel with great privilege.”

Ready to battle against Spain

First up in this landmark double-header is a match-up with Spain in Group D of the European qualifiers for the World Cup. An opponent Wubben-Moy and the Lionesses know all too well, having beaten them in the EURO 2022 quarter-finals on extra-time, in the EURO 2025 final on penalties, and lost in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final. 

And Wubben-Moy is confident that England will be fully prepared, and can get a win that would put them in pole position to secure the one automatic qualifying spot from Group D for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

She said: “What have I learned? I think as the game progresses and as players grow within that, I think there's always this requirement to be you, to play your way of football and be steadfast in that. Be confident in that, quietly confident, but also trusting in it.

“And I think we’re at a place in Lionesses football identity and DNA where we are quietly confident in that. And I think we’re assured in the way we want to perform and I think when you're in that sort of comfortable position, there are so many possibilities for the performances that you can put out onto the pitch.

“So I think, yeah, while we will look at Spain, definitely review past games, we also look forward to this game coming up. I think most of our focus will be on ourselves and what we can do and how we can play our style to the best of our abilities.”

For the full press conference with Wubben-Moy on the Spain and Iceland fixtures, the legacy of the England Lionesses and being part of their 500th match, download the England app.