Royals striker humbled by call up
Reading FC Women striker Fran Kirby has reacted to her historic call up to the England squad.
The forward is the first Royals player to make the Three Lions' women's team - and will now be in contention to win a debut cap for clashes against Belarus and Ukraine later this month.
"I was quite surprised to be included in the long squad and even more so now, and I’m really pleased to be part of the squad," said Fran.
“It’s great that Mark and his team are looking at WSL2 and coming to watch games. The league is of a high standard and we’ve been pushing WSL1 teams when we’ve been playing them in the Continental Cup. I’m really looking forward to joining up with the squad. I did a training session with the senior squad in La Manga in January and I think it helped to drive me on this season and get the goals I’ve been scoring.”
The forward is the first Royals player to make the Three Lions' women's team - and will now be in contention to win a debut cap for clashes against Belarus and Ukraine later this month.
"I was quite surprised to be included in the long squad and even more so now, and I’m really pleased to be part of the squad," said Fran.
“It’s great that Mark and his team are looking at WSL2 and coming to watch games. The league is of a high standard and we’ve been pushing WSL1 teams when we’ve been playing them in the Continental Cup. I’m really looking forward to joining up with the squad. I did a training session with the senior squad in La Manga in January and I think it helped to drive me on this season and get the goals I’ve been scoring.”
The first match against Belarus takes place on Saturday 14 June at Minsk’s Traktor Stadium (KO 15:00 BST). England will then travel to Ukraine, where they play at Arena Lviv on Thursday 19 June (KO 16:00 BST). England are unbeaten so far in the campaign, winning six out of six games so far without conceding any goals.
For details on how to watch Kirby in action for Reading FC Women click here.