England Women's Football Team are set for their biggest challenge yet, in the form of a coveted Euro 2022 final against Germany at Wembley this Sunday.
With over 90,000 fans expected to fill the seats of the national stadium, and millions watching around the world - people will be hoping that raw determination and strength in squad will be enough to bring home the trophy when the fixture gets underway.
The 2022 squad has been made up from the best English talent currently playing professional football - recruiting footballers from every corner of England. A number of which have links to the North East - through being either born in the region or playing for one of the North East's incredibly competitive clubs.
Read more: Who is Beth Mead? Lioness superstar and Euro Golden Boot hopeful
Today, we look at the Lionesses who have ties specifically to the North East ahead of Sunday's Euro 2022 final.
Lucy Bronze - Defender:
Northumberland-born Lucy Bronze has this year stunned the world with her incredible career so far - signing a two-year deal with Barcelona. The 30-year-old hailing from Alnwick left Manchester City this summer to join the Primera Division winners - who won all 30 league games last season.
Humble roots from Sunderland Ladies kicked off Lucy's career, joining their academy and sticking with it until being given her first professional senior contract aged 16. In her debut season, she was named as Manager's Player of the Year, with the Lady Black Cats achieving a third place finish in the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division.
From Sunderland, Bronze would go on to have spells with Everton, Liverpool, Lyon and Manchester City - before signing her new contract with Barcelona in 2022.
She initially represented her national team at U-17, but was also selected for the U-19, U-20 and U-23 squads before landing a place in the senior squad in 2013. She made her debut as a 67th minute substitute Dunia Susi in a friendly against world champions Japan.
She has since been selected for the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cup, as well as Euro 2017 and Euro 2022 - where she hopes to secure the club's first ever major trophy come Sunday.
Speaking to Chronicle Live in 2015 about Lucy's success, her mother Diane, said: "I am extremely proud of Lucy, especially with the manner in which she takes her success. She credits her achievements to the whole team, and she is right."
Beth Mead - Forward:
To say that Beth Mead has set Euro 2022 alight would be an understatement, as she is currently tied for the coveted competitions Golden Boot award with Alexandra Popp - both of which have six goals to their name. As well as scoring a hat trick against Norway, Mead has subsequently slotted a goal a piece home against Austria, Northern Ireland and Sweden - while also setting three goals up across the span of the tournament.
Born in Hinderwell, near Whitby in North Yorkshire, Beth began her career with California Girls FC at youth level, before joining Middlesbrough's Centre of Excellence. Her first big break, alike Lucy Bronze, would come in the form of a professional Contract with SAFC Ladies - where she scored 23 goals in 23 games in her first campaign.
The striker would actually also round the year off with 29 goals in all competitions, before netting 30 in 28 the following year. She would continue her emphatic goal streak over the course of the coming years, before Arsenal came a knocking in 2017 - where she currently plays domestic football.
Mead has also represented England at every age level since her career began, making her debut for the senior squad in 2018. She would start in the first two games of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup - which England would narrowly miss out on due to a 2-1 defeat from USA in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, this time last year, Beth was left out of the squad to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic). But her devastation from not being selected only spurred her onto a great season with Arsenal, which landed her a key role in this summer's starting XI with the Lionesses.
With six goals in six matches for the current tournament, it comes as little surprise that Mead has became a trending figure on social media, with many taking to Twitter to share their praises alike.
One user, wrote: "If Beth mead gets the golden boot I will get a Meado tattoo but the amount of o’s at the end of it will be the amount of goals she scores," while another, added: "What material should the Beth Mead statue outside Wembley be made of, and should it be 3 or 4 times life size?"
Jill Scott - Midfielder:
Although she hasn't been a regular starter for the Lionesses at this year's competition, Sunderland AFC Hall of Fame inductee Jill Scott has showed promise on the pitch when taking to the field. A natural leader and a rock-solid midfielder, the Sunderland-born baller has no doubt had a massive impact on England's successes at Euro 2022 thus far.
Jill began her senior footballing career at home with SAFC Ladies - and in October 2005, aged just 18, she won a glorious Women's Player of the Month award for her performances on a domestic and international level. Although Doncaster Rover Belles approached Jill for the next stage of her career, she turned a move down and instead opted to sign with Everton.
At the end of the 2007-08 season, she picked up the FA Tesco Players' Player of the Year award. While with Everton, she helped the club win the FA Women's Premier League Cup and the FA Women's Cup, appearing in both finals.
Jill would then be picked up for a long and illustrious career with Manchester City, before returning to Everton on loan in 2021, and Aston Villa also on loan until the end of the 2022 season.
On an international scale, Jill represented her country at U-19 level initially, where she would go on to captain her team. She was called up as a senior 18 months later in 2006.
Since then, Jill has been a staple part of the Lionesses' many international trophy runs, representing the nation in the 2007 and 2011 Women's World Cup, as well as the 2009 and 2022 Euros. She was also named in 2012 for the London Olympic squad, as well as in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic squad.
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