Eight Chelsea Ladies Named in England Squad
Eight members of the Chelsea Ladies have been called into the England squad for the upcoming CFA International Women’s Football Tournament in China.
Drew Spence, Hannah Blundell and Laura Coombs have all been rewarded for their impressive form at club level with first senior call-ups on the international stage, while Gilly Flaherty, Claire Rafferty, Gemma Davison, Fran Kirby and Eniola Aluko have also been selected by Mark Sampson.
England travel to YongChuan, Chongqing, on 19 October, and will play games against Australia on 23 October and China on 27 October.
Speaking to the official Chelsea website, Blundell gave her reaction to being called into the senior squad for the first time.
‘It’s a bit overwhelming to be honest,’ said the defender. ‘Obviously I’m glad, now is the chance for me to prove I should be in the squad and that’s what I want to do.
‘I went up to the training camp before they went to Estonia and I didn’t hear anything after that, but Emma was giving me confidence and saying I should be selected, so in the back of my mind I thought I could get picked for China, especially because some players aren’t going due to the Continental Cup.
‘Having people I know there is going to make me feel a lot more at ease and I’m looking forward to it.’
Meanwhile three of our players – Flaherty, Kirby and Ji So-Yun – are in contention for the FA WSL Goal of the Season 2015 award.
Source: Chelsea FC.
