Leah Williamson opens up on World Cup heartbreak after leaving WhatsApp group
Leah Williamson has lauded England's impressive performances at the World Cup - but admits it's been hard to watch her teammates shine without her.
Sarina Wiegman's side, who jetted into Australia and New Zealand as one of the pre-tournament favourites, were forced to travel without Williamson, who is currently sidelined with an ACL injury.
The Lionesses haven't faltered without their captain though; a commanding 6-1 win over China on Tuesday in their final group game was enough to book their spot in the last 16 after topping Group D. And after watching her teammates move another step closer to immortality, Williamson conceded that it was tough for her to watch on from afar.
Williamson spoke with Capital FM host Roman Kemp in the hours leading up to Tuesday's match about the tournament and how she's coped having to watch from the sidelines.
And when Kemp suggested she must be "gutted" to be missing out, Williamson responded: "Yeah, it's not easy. It's not easy. It's more like they're my mates you know, I want to be out there having a good time.... obviously I miss the football."
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Kemp then pressed her to talk about how she was coping with her new watching brief, to which she added: "It's hard, we're on the outside. I don't want to get in too much but at the same time, it's them. They're like my family. So it's nice just watching and being proud of them. But I'd much rather be involved."
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Leah Williamson has been forced to watch the Lionesses from the sidelines (Capital FM YouTube)Williamson also revealed on the radio show that she had made the decision to "dip out" of the Lionesses' WhatsApp chat after Beth Mead claimed that she herself had been kicked out of the group.
"That's not a funny situation, by the way, just to clarify," Williamson said when the WhatsApp revelation was put to her. "No, I think I was in for a while. And then it got to a point where obviously I was in until April. So then they started doing all prep, and I was like.. probably time for me to just leave now."
She added: "I'm gonna say I took control and was like: 'Am I needed for anything? Or can I just dip out now, thank you'."
Despite her absence, Williamson - who captained the Lionesses to Euros glory last summer - will be watching her teammates when they meet Nigeria next Monday for a place in the tournament quarter-finals.
It remains to be seen if Wiegman will be able to call on the services of Keira Walsh after she sustained a nasty looking knee injury in the Lionesses' 1-0 win against Denmark - although it has since been confirmed that Walsh has not suffered an ACL injury.
That update sparked hopes that Walsh could feature again at a later stage in the tournament. Wiegman, though, was coy on the prospect of Walsh making a return when she was asked about the midfielder in the build-up to the China game.
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