Meet Erica Meg Parkinson: The rapid rise of England's multilingual new talent
Teenage midfielder talks tactics, ambition and playing in Portugal after her promotion to Under-23s
England’s Under-23 side is more than just an incubator for the country’s best talent. The development team has legitimately shown itself to be a pipeline for players to break through into Sarina Wiegman’s senior squad.
In the last two camps alone, Lucia Kendall, Freya Godfrey and Anouk Denton have made the step up, albeit in the absence of some injured players.
Across the last Euros cycle, Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones were the most notable graduates from the Under-23s to move up into Wiegman’s first team. Both were outstanding youth players, scoring impressively during domestic loan spells and at international age-group level. The pair not only broke into the team but also managed to stick around - a tough task for many of their counterparts - albeit Agyemang is currently facing a long spell on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury.
Now, there’s a new player emerging from England’s young, exciting cohort.
Midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson is just 17 and recently earned a call to the Under-19s before being promoted again to the Under-23s squad.
Parkinson was part of the team that finished fourth at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic last year and has been making waves not just for her ability, but her unusual journey to international football.
Parkinson could have played for Japan - the country of her mother’s heritage - Singapore, where she grew up, or Portugal, where she currently plays for Valadares Gaia in the country’s top tier. But it was England that came calling first.
“I think I chose England because they were the first country that came up to me and obviously invited me to start with the NTCs (national training centres),” said Parkinson, speaking to media from St George’s Park, where she is currently in camp with Emma Coates’ Under-23s.
England will take on Norway at the Joie Stadium on Thursday before facing USA on Monday, 1 December. It’s the first time England’s Young Lionesses will have met the USA since 2018.
“Once I was here and I started going through the pathway, I just really liked the culture,” Parkinson added. “I think all the players that you come across in the environment are very kind people, but they’re also very ambitious. I just really enjoyed the way that England conducted themselves - the trainings, the games, how we want to play - and I related to that.”
Having grown up in an international environment, Parkinson can speak four languages, including Portuguese and French. Her brother is also a talented footballer who has already represented Japan at youth level and is currently playing for FC Famalicão in Portugal.
The teenager is full of confidence but also calmness: for someone so young there are few nerves, even when talking about braiding her teammates’ hair and filming TikToks in camp.
Parkinson is at such an early stage in her career that she’s currently studying for her A-levels. She only signed her first professional contract last year but has played over 500 minutes for Valadares Gaia so far this season.
It’s clear to see that family and faith are very important to Parkinson, too. Her phone case has the words “Faith not fear” printed across it and she wears a small cross on a chain necklace.
Her English father had the biggest influence on her football family. A diehard Manchester United fan, he instilled an early love for the game in both Parkinson and her brother.
It was playing in youth leagues in Portugal that brought Parkinson to the attention of England. Portugal has become an exciting pathway for international talent, with Olivia Smith breaking through at Sporting Lisbon before her £1-million transfer from Liverpool to Arsenal in the summer. It’s no surprise that Parkinson’s talent has also attracted interest from clubs in England.
At club level, Parkinson plays alongside several USA youth internationals, and there are young European prospects dotted across the league.
She credits the “fluid” and “passionate” style of football in the country for helping her build strong foundations, but admits that she has to switch on her “tactical” brain when joining up with England for international duty.
“Well, obviously, first with training I have to realise I do need to switch off my brain to how I play in Portugal and change the way I play. But I also think I don’t want to change too much, because the qualities I bring to the pitch are because of the type of football I play in Portugal and the type of football I grew up with, playing from 10 to 17.
“So some aspects I do try to change, but then other ones, these are my specialties. So I won’t try to take that away from my game.”
Parkinson also notes the “step up” when graduating from England’s Under-17s to Under-23s so quickly: “Everything’s much quicker, much faster.
“You have less time on the ball, but it’s also really good technically, so it’s really good to up your game and just be aware of everyone.”
She may only be taking her first steps in international football, but Parkinson is a name to remember.