England have moved on from their original Women’s World Cup base camp in Australia, relocating to Sydney for the remainder of their tournament.
The Lionesses initially set up camp on the Sunshine Coast, around 100km north of Brisbane, when they first landed in Australia. But having played Haiti in Brisbane in their opening game, Sydney is now a more central base ahead of the remaining group games and route through the knockouts.
The break between the Haiti game, which England won 1-0 in less than convincing fashion, and the next one against Denmark is six days. That has given more than enough time for the move, but still presents plenty of downtime for the players to fill.
On the other side of the world, compared to last summer on home soil, enjoying the time between games and bonding as a squad has been particularly important.
“We’ve had a little bit of downtime today, so it’s been really nice to get out and have a bit of a wander around,” Esme Morgan told Lionesses: Down Under connected by EE on Monday.
“It’s so lovely down at the beach, although the water looks a bit cold and choppy. When we all walked in [on Sunday], we were gazing round with our jaws on the floor. I love the little book corner; they have some great books in there. The darts board and table tennis have already been put to good use and there’s also an arts and crafts area. It’s amazing, we’ve got everything we need.”
Morgan, who is yet to feature, has brought university work with her to help occupy the time. But there have been other ways that the squad have been able to spend time together.
“I’ve been working my way through a book and been doing a bit of uni work. But I think the most popular thing amongst the team will be the table tennis,” she said.
“We’ve also just enjoyed watching the other games. There’s a big screen with bean bags, so we’ll all get together and watch the other games that are going on. It’s quite nice to just relax, have a laugh and watch some football.
“Everyone gets along so well. And it’s been amazing being able to have special off the pitch moments. We went whale watching and Mary Earps had the best day of her life. It just really brought everyone together on that boat because we had this amazing, shared experience together.
“It’s little things off the pitch like watching the sunset together on the beach that brings us so close as a unit and makes it so much fun to be part of camp. We then take that onto the training pitch, and everything just connects that little bit easier.”
Watch the full episode of Lionesses: Down Under connected by EE below
