28 November 2023 , 18:32
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Beth Mead is confident she can make an immediate impact on her return to England duty.
Mead, the UEFA Player of the Tournament at Euro 2022, is in the Lionesses squad for the first time in over a year after rupturing her ACL in November 2022.
Her layoff meant she missed England's run to the FIFA World Cup final in Australia over the summer. But the Arsenal forward was back amongst the goals in Sunday's 3-0 WSL win over West Ham and could well be handed a starting place against the Netherlands at Wembley, with Sarina Wiegman searching for a winning combination following last month's 3-2 defeat to Belgium.
England have to win their last two UEFA Nations League group fixtures to have any hope of reaching the tournament finals, and keeping alive Team GB's prospects of Olympic qualification. Wiegman also has Lauren Hemp, Lauren James and Chloe Kelly in her squad who can also be deployed in the wide areas, with Alessia Russo, Fran Kirby and Ella Toone completing a dazzling array of attacking options. But Mead insists she is happy to play whatever role is necessary.
"It's been a year since I was last here and I've worked hard to get back," said Mead. "I've had a lot of tough days during that time.
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"I'm proud of myself for being able to get back into the fold and hopefully I'll be able to help the team at some point. Watching them at the World Cup and not being able to help them out, it was a tough watch.
"I wanted to kick, tackle and do every ball with them. But I'm back on the pitch, doing what I love doing again. With each game that I'm playing at the moment, I've been feeling more confident, more like myself again. I realise I've still got a left foot sometimes, which is great!
"But I hope to help the team in any way. I'll do what I've done on and off the pitch to the best of my ability. I'm happy to take up whatever role Sarina (Wiegman) would like to give me. Hopefully I can help during the camp at some point. The competition will only make us better as a team and keep pushing us forward."
The Lionesses have to reach the Nations League finals to keep alive Team GB's hopes for the Paris 2024 Olympics. England, as the highest ranked British side, are the qualifying representatives for Team GB. That means they will only compete in Paris if the Lionesses reach the final, or finish third if France (Olympic hosts) reach the final.
Mead missed out Olympic selection for Team GB last time out in Tokyo, a disappointment she later said fuelled her incredible 2021-22 season. But as well as wanting to play at another major tournament, the 2022 Sports Personality of the Year is also excited by the prospect of returning to Wembley.
Over 75,000 are expected at the national stadium for the first fixture the Lionesses will play there since winning the Finalissima against Brazil back in April.
Beth Mead scored her first goals since her injury comeback for Arsenal in Sunday's win over West Ham (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)"We love playing there," said Mead. "The fans are incredible every time we play there and we'd love to play every game there. Hopefully we can keep pushing and try and get it sold out.
"It's an important prospect. It's a big game, we'll control what we can and ultimately we have to win the next two games to get to the Olympics. We'll focus on the Netherlands and hopefully get the win. Both a very clever footballing teams, so it'll be a very good game for the neutral. There's normally quite a few goals, I'm excited to be a part of it.
"I was devastated not to go to the last Olympics. It's another tournament you want to be playing in. I've got a lot of motivation just to be on the pitch, but I know the girls are desperate to qualify for it. We are more hungry than ever, we're not in the perfect position but the Olympics is an amazing tournament that you want to go to."