Manchester United’s Ella Toone has shared her delight and gratitude at being selected in England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 squad.
Earlier this week, head coach Sarina Wiegman selected her 23-player group for the competition, in which Toone was joined by Reds team-mates Mary Earps and Alessia Russo.
Reacting to her selection via the Lionesses’ social media channels, Toone expressed: “I just said thank you, thank you so much [to Wiegman].
“I must have said thank you about six times! I didn’t know what else to say, it just felt like a bit of a relief after hearing that, so I did thank her a lot.”
The midfielder already has some tournament experience in her locker, having been in Team GB's squad for last summer's delayed Tokyo Olympics. But our no.7 will now get set for her first major competition with England, just 16 months after her senior Lionesses debut.
That prospect is already exciting, and even more so with the competition being on home turf and the opener being at Old Trafford.
“Obviously I dreamt of playing for England and being in a major tournament, but this is something else.
“This is a major tournament, in England, first game at Old Trafford, [the home of] my childhood club.
“All these things at once, this is a massive dream and something I never even expected. So obviously I can’t wait for the first game and just to be a part of it.”
The latter pair have had a particularly close bond that goes back before their days together at United and that relationship was something Toone was also asked about when giving her reaction to the call-up.
“We’ve just been in the room hugging it out. It’s so special,”she said.
“I just said to her then ‘who would have thought at under-15s, when we first met, that we would be going to our first major tournament together, in England, having our families who are now really close there together?’
“It’s a special moment and she [Alessia] deserves it. I’m just really proud of her. We just want to go and enjoy every single moment together.”