Lotte Wubben-Moy’s journey to the World Cup after England’s historic European Championship win last year has not been straightforward. The Arsenal centre-back was omitted from the squad for the friendlies against the USA and Czech Republic in October, with Sarina Wiegman citing playing time at club level as the issue for a number of players left out, but Wubben-Moy was then called up as a replacement for the injured Leah Williamson.
She then made the squad for the November fixtures and the Arnold Clark Cup in February but was dropped for the Finalissima against Brazil in April, only to find herself summoned again after an injury to Millie Bright.
At Arsenal, the ride has been no smoother, with injuries hitting them and ensuring Wubben-Moy had a busy and emotionally charged end to the season.
“In a sense, all of those ups and downs fuel you even more and should help you when it comes to playing in the tournament,” she says. “Anyone who has been part of it knows the highs are so high and the lows are so low and being able to get through to the end of the tournament you need to be able to weather adversity.
“Everything I’ve been through this year and been through on behalf of my teammates is only going to help me. I know how to weather those storms and somewhat feel privileged to be able to go through highs and lows like that, that not everyone can go through. If you spin it and look at it in that sense that can only help.”
It is character building. “It sounds crude but injuries, selection, not selection, it’s part of top-level performance sport and everyone in this room will have been through something like that on their journey whether you like it or not.”
As at the start of the season with Arsenal, Wubben-Moy is having to bide her time with England. Her clubmate Williamson is missing with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and Bright is returning from a knee injury, but Wubben-Moy has still been on the bench waiting.
She has been an unused substitute in four of England’s six games this year, playing nine minutes in the 6-1 defeat of Belgium and 27 minutes of the 2-1 win against Italy, both in the Arnold Clark Cup. Jess Carter and Esme Morgan have started alongside Williamson, Bright or Alex Greenwood – Wiegman’s favoured centre-back options.
Wubben-Moy is ready to step up when called upon but is not setting personal targets, at least when it comes to playing time. “I’m not naive to the fact that the minutes I’ve got this year with England haven’t been massive, so my focus on this tournament is to enjoy it, get the most out of it and ideally give the most of myself,” she says.
“I’ve spoken a lot about consistency and being the best person I can be for my teammates, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch, and I hold myself to high standards in general. That’s definitely something I see as a goal for the tournament, regardless of whether I get minutes.”
With the starting left-back at Euro 2022, Rachel Daly, having earned the Women’s Super League golden boot with Aston Villa and the No 9 shirt for England, there is even more upheaval at the back. Are they doing more to build defensive connections in the pre‑tournament camps? “We had the prep game, the send-off game [against Portugal], back in England, and everyone has been super-open about the fact that that game was about building connections and we continue to build upon that,” says Wubben-Moy.
“There’s no greater practice than playing a friendly game like that. The Canada game [on Friday, behind closed doors] is another chance to look at how best we can build those connections. These few days [on the Sunshine Coast] have been about leading in, to get back playing, so there hasn’t necessarily been anything focused, but the classroom is also our oyster. We’re able to sit in there and go through clips, which we’ve done after the Portugal game and in that sense the buildup defensively is pretty straightforward for us.”
The difference between preparations for the World Cup and European Championship is the need to step up a gear. “The focus, the desire, the intensity, it’s all taken a step up and that’s what I’d expect really,” Wubben-Moy says.
“We’ve come off the back of a Euros, we’ve won that, and it’s not a case of settling on that. It’s: ‘OK, what’s next? How much more can we push?’ I don’t think this team knows how far we can go and that’s quite a nice place to be in because in that sense you can dream and always be excited about what’s next.”
