Poppy Pattinson 'brings her strengths' in long-awaited England debut
The full-back has waited patiently to make her senior debut but is ready to compete for left-back role
Poppy Pattinson made her senior international debut in England’s 6-1 World Cup-qualifier win over Ukraine last night, coming on as a substitute in the second half in Turkey.
It’s a moment that has been a long time in the making, as the 25-year-old has represented England at Under 17, 19, 21 and Under 23s level.
Up until now, she had struggled to break through into Sarina Wiegman’s senior squad, but a consistent run of performances at left-back for London City Lionesses, a position England have sought greater stability in over recent years, caught the eye of England’s head coach.
“She was really excited with the call-up,” said Wiegman when announcing her latest Lionesses squad last month. “We’ve followed her for a long time, also when she was at Brighton and played with the under-23s too earlier.
“She’s a left full-back, very proactive; she’s across the whole wing and takes a lot of initiative. What I like too in possession is she really wants to play forward and finds a way to play forward. She’s very energetic also.”
Pattinson came on at half time for Taylor Hinds in the left-back position and settled into the back four well. The scoreline was goalless after 45 minutes, so a much-improved second half gave England a comfortable win with Alessia Russo, Jess Park, and Georgia Stanway all scoring two goals each.
It was a composed debut from Pattinson, who delivered 96% pass accuracy, claimed four interceptions, and made one accurate cross (Wyscout), albeit against low-ranked opposition.
