The revamped Under 23s is putting England stars on the path to the senior team
Grace Clinton and Jess Park are recent examples of U23 to senior success stories, but much more has gone into it than just creating a simple pathway...
While all eyes are currently on England’s opening Euro 2025 qualifier with a fellow top five ranked nation in the form of Sweden under the Wembley lights on Friday night, there’s another meeting between the two same nations 24 hours in advance.
The U23 Lionesses face-off against their Swedish counterparts in Telford on Thursday night in Emma Coates’ side’s final game of the new European League, a competition created to offer regular competitive games at U23 level, with the lack of a major tournament for the age band.
Kicking off last September, the competition has run throughout the European season with many camps shadowing those of the senior teams, allowing for example the U23s to train alongside Sarina Wiegman’s first team in Spain last month.
Nine teams have taken part, with Norway, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Portugal joining England and Sweden, with all sides having faced each other once either home or away.
“Our job is to develop the players as individuals and as a team develop our style of play…”
The Lionesses are unbeaten with three wins and four draws to date, but so are Norway and Netherlands, with the former the favourites four wins and one draw as well as two games in hand on England, and the Norwegians have at times utilised the chance to field overage players to bridge the gap to the first team, such as last month in an eye-catching 4-0 win against Spain.
The competition has come with little fanfare, though there is a working group currently studying how to create more attention around it when next season comes around, such is the level of talent on show across nine major European nations.
It is though not solely about winning games of football, but ensuring there is a clear pathway to Wiegman’s first team, and since the competition started back in September both Grace Clinton and Jess Park have made the permanent step up.
“The two go hand-in-hand, you can’t separate them,” says head coach Coates, who stepped up last summer from her previous role as U19s head coach. “Our job is to develop the players as individuals and as a team develop our style of play.
“We have to learn about how we win football matches because ultimately that’s the pressure they will be under at the next level, so we want to go and win the game on Thursday. Of course, we want to develop our style, and this week is a really exciting one with both teams playing Sweden in the space of 24 hours.”
Others are on the cusp of following in the footsteps of Park and Clinton, such as Chelsea forward Aggie Beever-Jones.
After a successful loan spell at Everton last season, the 20-year-old has scored six league goals for the WSL champions in the current campaign and appears to be the next in line for a senior debut when the opportunity presents itself.
February’s camp in Spain ensured should Wiegman need to call on someone she could do, and that is exactly what happened when Beever-Jones was drafted in for the second game and ended up in the matchday squad.
“Ultimately, we’ve all been preparing for this,” says the forward. “For me, I go back to the NPCs [National Performance Centres] at U14 level and I think the pathway has always been there.
“Seeing two girls like Grace and Jess, and also Khiara [Keating], recently make that step makes it more tangible for us and Sarina’s definitely looking around.
“We say it in our meetings, ‘Who’s next? Who’s willing to put the work in and get that call-up?’ The pathway is definitely there and it’s an exciting time for all of us.”
When the U23s faced Spain in a friendly in Marbella during the February camp, the whole senior squad and staff, including Wiegman, were in the stands watching, with several players able to train up with the first team.
“That camp was so…I guess helpful? On so many levels,” says Coates. “We’ve had a couple of keepers train across today,” she adds, speaking on camp at St. George’s Park ahead of the Sweden match.
“That’s been a great opportunity and part of the benefit of again being on camp at the same time.”
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It’s been a bumpy and at times uncertain road for the U23 age group over the years. In 2018, The FA replaced the group with the U21s, but moved back to the U23s in 2021 to help bridge the gap between the U19s and the first team, and allow players of a slightly older age than 21 to still gain international experience and make the step up to the senior team.
With the season ending on Thursday, some at the upper end of the age band such as Lucy Thomas, Poppy Pattinson, Molly Pike, Ebony Salmon and Jess Naz may see their time in the squad come to an end, but there is also plenty of young talent within the squad to make up a future core.
One of those players in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur forward Naz has felt the benefit of the age group shift, allowing her to continue playing international football, while enjoying a successful season with her club which could yet still end with an FA Cup final.
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