Para Lionesses hopeful of strong performance at EUROs

And the squad is feeling positive ahead of the tournament, according to their captain.

“I’m excited and so are the rest of the girls,” said Gough. “We’ve worked hard to get to where we are and we’re looking forward to hopefully putting in a strong performance in Türkiye.

“We’ve played some of the teams before, but we can’t look back too much at those games. We need to take each match as it comes, thinking about what we are going to do and following our patterns and instructions.

“From our IBSA World Championships silver medal, we’ve shown that we can achieve great things. We need to work together as a team and focus on showing up for ourselves and our teammates.”

The squad’s male counterparts secured a silver medal at the IBSA Blind Football European Championship in August, narrowly losing 1-0 to France in the final. That was after a remarkable 8-0 victory against Greece helped them progress to the semi-finals, overturning a seven-goal swing to set up a meeting with Türkiye – which they went on to win 1-0.

Gough says the women’s side took inspiration from the men’s team.

“We were really proud of them, especially the way they worked together through some difficult games,” she explained.

“They are trailblazers in showing us what can be achieved and we enjoyed following them throughout the tournament. Hopefully they follow us, too!”

The fixtures in Türkiye will be Gough’s first in an England shirt since being named in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list, receiving an MBE for services to sport and the visually impaired community.

As a pioneer of blind football and a champion for disabled people in sport, the recognition means a lot to her.

“It’s a huge honour, and it’s not just for me,” said Gough. “It’s for every young person out there who thinks sport isn’t for them, but it is.

“We are paving the way to make sure that sport is accessible. For me and all of us in the team, it’s not just about playing; it’s about trying to get more people involved in sport.

“Having a visual impairment or other disability doesn’t stop you; sport is for you and you can be active. Follow your dreams and never let anyone tell you that you can’t participate in sport.”