Robinson gets World Cup call-up

Katie Robinson has been called up for the England squad for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

It’s been an incredible season for the 21-year-old Albion midfielder, who received her first senior call-up in November 2022 and has been selected for each international camp since.

Robinson has already had a taste of silverware with the Lionesses, having helped them win the Finalissima against Brazil and Arnold Clark Cup earlier this season.

She said, “I’m absolutely buzzing! I can’t wait to get going and represent England. It’s been quite a whirlwind of a season; things have gone well at Brighton on a personal level and I’m incredibly proud to get this call-up.

“The little girl I was when I was younger probably could never believe that I’d be going to a World Cup and represent England. It’s just such a proud moment, not only for me but for my family and friends as well.

“I grew up in Cornwall which it wasn’t very big for football. I played in a lot of boys’ teams at school and I never thought that it would be possible to play at big clubs and play for England so the fact that I am means so much to me.”

Robinson heads to Australia with four caps for her country. England are placed in Group D alongside Haiti, Denmark, and China PR and open their group stage fixtures against Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July. They face the Danes six days later in Sydney before playing China PR on 1 August in Adelaide.

Head coach Sarina Wiegman said: “I have huge belief in this squad and we’re very fortunate to be selecting a fantastic group of players to travel to Australia. We know we will face tough challenges from strong teams, and we will have to be competitive from the first match on 22 July. We will do everything to be at our very best again this summer.

“It is important the players get some well-deserved time to rest and recover over the next few weeks before we start the final preparations to get them ready. We learned a lot of positive lessons about how to get the players fit, fresh and ready from the EURO last summer and we know what we have to do to make sure we hit the ground running in the right way when the tournament starts.”

Selected are 16 of the squad who won UEFA EURO 2022 while Niamh Charles, Laura Coombs, Lauren James, Esme Morgan, Robinson and Katie Zelem will all be playing at their first major tournament. England captain Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead will all miss out on the finals because of injuries.

Maya Le Tissier, Jess Park and Emily Ramsey have been named on standby and will train with the squad when they report to St. George’s Park in June. Ramsey will leave the group prior to departure for Australia. Le Tissier and Park will join the group in travelling to Australia on 5 July for the final preparation phase of the tournament, remaining up to the opening match against Haiti on 22 July.