After eye-catching showings for Aston Villa, piano-playing psychology student is ready to step up for England duty
L
ucia Kendall was watching TV, probably a drama, and missed Sarina Wiegman’s call. She wasn’t expecting it. Certainly not this soon. The 21-year-old joined Aston Villa from the WSL 2 club Southampton in the summer but her start in the top division has been so impressive that it has yielded a first senior England call-up for the friendlies against Brazil and Australia.
“It’s surreal really,” Kendall says at the team’s St George’s Park training base. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in. I’m just here to learn as much as possible. This team’s just gone and won back-to-back Euros so to be able to be in their environment is something I really didn’t think I’d get to do so soon.”
The faith shown in her by Villa’s manager, Natalia Arroyo, is paying off. “She’s very passionate about the game,” says Kendall. “I’m starting to see how she wants to play, to come out a bit more, but I’m just really grateful for the level of trust that she’s shown in me. I’m a young player in the team. The first start, against Arsenal at the Emirates, not every manager would throw you in the deep end like that but I was really grateful for that opportunity to be able to show what I can do. I feel that trust from her.”
