Beth Mead ‘feeling blessed’ to be back in England fold after ‘tough days’ out of action
BETH MEAD vowed to make her late mother proud of her Lionesses return following her recovery from a serious knee injury.
The Arsenal star, 29, is in the running to feature for England for the first time since last November and her return to fitness following a ligament rupture.
On Friday the Lionesses face the Netherlands at Wembley with more than 75,000 tickets sold far ahead of their must-win Women’s Nations League clash.
The duel follows Mead scoring for the Gunners for the first time in 13 months with the WSL ace bagging a brace against West Ham on Sunday.
It also comes 15 months after her mother June – who passed away in January following her brave battle with ovarian cancer – watched her win the Euros at the stadium.
On Tuesday Mead told reporters: “Last time I got a chance to play there (at Wembley), my mum was still here, so that’s difficult for me to think about sometimes.
“But it also makes me very proud to try and make her proud as well. Fingers crossed I can get on the pitch and make her proud again.
“Each game I’ve been playing at the moment I’ve been feeling more confident, like myself again.
“I realised I’ve still got a left foot sometimes so that was great!
“I hope I can help the team in whatever way I can and still do what I’ve always done on and off the pitch to the best of my ability.
“Hopefully I can help during the camp at some point.
Mead’s last involvement in England camp was ahead of the team’s friendly duels last November with the player starring in a 4-0 drubbing of Japan.
But her season came to a premature end later that month when she limped off during the Gunners’ 3-2 loss to Manchester United at the Emirates in the League
Of her return to international camp, the forward added: “I’ve been smiling like a Cheshire Cat since I got here.
“It’s been a year since I was here. I’ve worked hard, I’ve had a lot of tough days in between that time.
“You never take it for granted but there’s watching that World Cup and not being able to go with the team and help them out, it was tough.
“It was a tough watch, I wanted to be there and kick and tackle and do every ball with them.
“I’m just super proud of myself and being able to get back into the fold and hopefully help the team at some point.
“Growing up a lot of my family members said I was quite a caffe-hearted person
“I’d like to think the things I’ve dealt with have made me a stronger and better person and whether that be as a team-mate, as a partner, as a sister, as a new dog mum.
“I’m proud of my journey and happy to have had the support around me that I’ve had, and I feel very lucky and blessed.”
The outcome of England’s clash with Holland could determine the Paris Olympic qualification chances of Team GB’s women’s football side.
Sarina Wiegman’s aces must beat their Dutch opponents by at least two goals and hope results in group A1 of the contest go their way.
The Euros champions are currently third in their Nations League group after two wins and two losses.
And they hope to emerge with a victory when they face their head coach’s former side.
Mead said: “It’s a big game, and what we can control we will.
“Ultimately, we have to win the next two games to give ourselves a chance to try and go to that Olympics.
“But as cliche as it is, it’s one game at a time.
“And we’ve got to focus on the game against the Netherlands this Friday, and hopefully get the win.”
This Friday night duel could see Mead go head-to-head with her club pal and partner Vivianne Miedema.
The Netherlands superstar, who also made her comeback this term following a lengthy spell out with an ACL injury, could be set to feature for the visitors.
Her side are currently top of group A1 with nine points and three wins in four games with England lying third with six.
Mead said: “It’s a nice moment for both of us.
“It’s a hard journey. Who does their ACLs at the same time? We’ve seen the good and bad days from each other.
“We’ve been able to get each other to this point so it’s really nice if we can both hopefully get the chance to get on the pitch at the same time at some point.”