Nobbs: Lionesses responsibility will not come at the expense of playing time at Euros

Sportsbeat
Updated ·3 min read
England's Jordan Nobbs (Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs)

Jordan Nobbs is prepared to shoulder responsibility at next summer’s home UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 tournament, but she isn’t about to let that come at the expense of playing time.

The Arsenal and England midfielder already has 60 caps to her name for the Lionesses, despite missing out of the 2019 Women’s World Cup with a torn ACL.

But the 27-year-old, who featured heavily for England at the last iteration of the Euros back in 2017 , insisted that her shifting role in Phil Neville’s squad does not spell an end for her time pulling the strings in the middle of the park.

“I think that we have to be good role models within the squad and provide a good environment for the younger ones coming up and also a good intensity,” she said.

“That’s our job, but I think we want to be on that pitch so hopefully we perform at a good standard anyway.

“It’s great for the team, I’m now turning into the older side, but there’s a few of us there now who have had experience of major tournaments and hopefully the youth can bring that no pressure environment.

“I think it’s great for Phil to have lots of options and it’s only going to make us all fight harder for that shirt.

“Our drive is to win for this country and we’re in a great place now and I think we’ve got a lot of youth and strength in depth in our squad now to compete over the next two years.”

Nobbs was speaking at UEFA’s 500 Days to Go launch event at Wembley, marking the official countdown to next summer’s showpiece.

And after 11.7 million people tuned into the BBC’s coverage of World Cup semi-final defeat to the USA last July, Nobbs believes that the climate has changed unrecognisably for the next generation of stars coming through.

“It’s a difficult one because you don’t want to be those people who say, ‘we never used to get this’, because you want them to enjoy every single moment,” she continued.

“But I think it’s just about making sure that they work as hard as we did when we didn’t have anything to make sure that they carry on that culture and environment to work harder.

“I believe that you get nowhere without working hard or trying your best.

“If you cut corners, I don’t think you’ll get there, so it’s just making sure that’s a development stage and for the youth now.

“It’s harder to get into squads now unless they work hard because the game’s changing and so many people want to play in the WSL.”

England will host the UEFA Women’s EURO finals in July 2021. Fans will be able to see some of the world’s best players in action as 31 matches are played at venues across the country during the three and a half weeks of the tournament.