England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is convinced the Lionesses are yet to test the limits of their true potential as they dare to dream of a maiden World Cup title.
The European champions begin their global mission against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 before taking on Denmark and China to conclude the group stage.
With the July 31 one-year anniversary of her side’s Euro 2022 Wembley triumph fast approaching, Wubben-Moy and her team-mates are ready to consign that victory to the history books and focus on their next chapter.
“In terms of preparation I think it is a Euros but then a level up,” the 24-year-old said during a training session on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
“The focus, the desire, the intensity, I think it’s all taken a step up and that’s what I’d expect really.
“We’ve come off the back of a Euros, we’ve won that, and it’s not a case of settling on that, it’s ‘ok, what’s next? how much more can we push?’ because I don’t think this team knows how far we can go really and that’s quite a nice place to be in because in that sense you can dream and always be excited about what’s next.”
England arrived in Australia, tournament co-hosts alongside New Zealand, on Friday and will train at the Sunshine Coast Stadium until they make their way to Brisbane ahead of their opener.
Dare to be different
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
While several Lionesses have praised the hosts for making them feel at home in such a short period of time, there are some unquestionable differences between this World Cup and last summer’s Euros in England – things like the kangaroos roaming the grounds of the team hotel.
Wubben-Moy continued: “From the food room you can look out onto the water, and there are these like mad, massive blue fish, similar to the colour of the kit actually, so there’s going to be plenty of wildlife that we see. Hopefully none of the scary ones, because I think quite a few people are scared of spiders and snakes.
“I don’t mind spiders but snakes, nah, no, not having it. Oh, the thought of it. So hopefully we don’t encounter any of them.”
While a combination of retirements and injuries will force Sarina Wiegman to debut a new-look line-up from the identical one she fielded for every match last summer, Wubben-Moy is less likely to be among her head coach’s top choices to start at the back.
Millie Bright, named captain in place of the injured Leah Williamson, looks set to return after recovering from the knee injury that kept her out of the Lionesses’ pre-departure goalless draw with Portugal, while stalwarts Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood will feature in their third consecutive World Cups.
Jess Carter and Esme Morgan both earned starting places in that friendly, while Wubben-Moy remained on the bench.
However she is employed this tournament, the Arsenal defender vowed she will make the most of the experience.
She added: “I think it’s difficult, a player is always going to want to play as much as possible.
“I guess I’m not naive to the fact that the minutes I’ve got this year with England haven’t been massive, so my focus on this tournament is to enjoy it, gain the most out of it and actually ideally give the most of myself.
“I’ve spoken a lot about consistency and being the best person that I can be for my team-mates, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch, and I hold myself to high standards in general, so that’s definitely something that I see as a goal for the tournament, regardless of whether I get minutes or not.”
