Young Lionesses ready to make their mark in Poland

Lily Dent and Lucy Newell are ready to savour every moment as England prepare to begin their FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup campaign in Poland.

The Young Lionesses head into the tournament with confidence high, after rounding off their preparations with an 11-0 victory over New Caledonia at St. George’s Park.

For Dent and Newell, the final warm-up fixture also brought a personal milestone, with Newell scoring her first goal for England and Dent netting for the first time since her return from a long-term injury.

“Finally!” joked Newell.

“It was really nice to finish with a big win before going off to Poland. I feel like we're in a really good place in our preparations and I’m really excited to get going.

"The vibes are high and the girls are really excited. Not many of us have been to a World Cup before, so this is a new experience for us all. We hope to see a good group of fans out there and loads of people watching back home."

For Dent, the moment was extra special after a long road back from an ACL injury suffered while preparing for the UEFA Women’s U19 EURO last year.

The midfielder has since worked her way back to fitness and into Lydia Bedford’s final 21-player squad for the World Cup, with her first England goal since her return to fitness providing the perfect end to a summer of preparations.

“It’s amazing, it’s been such a long journey back and I’m really proud of the progress I've made,” said the versatile attacker, who is on loan to Sunderland.

“To be back in this environment, which is where I suffered the injury just before the EUROs, and to be back for this World Cup means the absolute world to me. To get a goal just caps everything off. I’m super happy.”

Both players are preparing for their first World Cup, with the news of their selection providing a moment neither will forget.

“You're anticipating the phone call all day and hoping for good news,” said Manchester United centre-back Newell.

“When it finally comes through, it's such a big relief. There's no better feeling than wearing an England badge in a competitive game, so doing it in a World Cup will be so special.”

For Dent, selection carried even greater significance after the challenges of the previous year.

“It’s surreal. It's something you dream of when you're little and, considering everything I've been through, I think I have a much different outlook on football now," she said.

"I just want to go out there and enjoy it. I want to take every moment that I can, and the opportunities we're going to get out there are once in a lifetime.”

England’s preparations have included tests against opposition from across the world, culminating in Saturday’s meeting with fellow World Cup qualifiers New Caledonia. After the final whistle, the two squads came together for a group photo.

“It was a different test that we probably haven't had before and a great opportunity to play against a team that we've never played against,” added Dent.

“They were super respectful at the end and a group of lovely girls, so it was nice to share that moment with them.”

Attention now turns firmly to Poland and England’s opening fixture against Canada.

“It’s been such a long prep for this moment,” said Dent. “For it all to build into next week is super exciting. We all have our heads screwed on and we can't wait to get out there and perform.”

England begin their FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup campaign against Canada on Saturday 5 September (5pm BST), before facing Tanzania and Brazil in their remaining Group B fixtures which will all take place in Bielsko-Biala.