Tottenham striker Bethany England has been included in Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman's 23-player squad for the summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The 28-year-old has not featured for her country since September and has been left out of four consecutive international camps under Wiegman, yet, England has constructed a seemingly incontrovertible case for her inclusion in Wiegman's World Cup squad since her record-breaking move from Chelsea to Tottenham in January.
Across 11 matches for the Lilywhites, England notched 13 goals, including a brace against Reading in the penultimate match that secured Spurs' WSL status for another season.
It is a sensational return on investment that saw England pip last season's Golden Boot winner Sam Kerr in this season's top-goalscorer chart.
And with the absence of Arsenal striker Beth Mead due to an ACL injury, England's inclusion looked to be an inevitability despite Wiegman's prior resistance from selecting the player.
And Wiegman admitted England's recent performances and her strength to dig Spurs out of a relegation battle were key to her selection.
"It was because of her performances," Wiegman said when queried on England. "Of course she was at Chelsea, she didn’t get the minutes and we always say that if you're competing for the position, you need to have the credits.
"At Spurs, she was playing in a hard situation but how she did and how she performed and how much resilience she showed that’s what made our decision to get her into the squad."
England has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances for the Lionesses to date. She has been named amid a heady list of attackers, including Aston Villa's Rachel Daly and Manchester United's Alessia Russo.
The competition for a starting berth will be fierce, but England's form of late is suggestive of a player keen to eclipse her Euro 2022 experience in which she did not feature across a single minute for the triumphant Lionesses.
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Mary Earps [Manchester United], Ellie Roebuck [Manchester City], Hannah Hampton [Aston Villa]
Defenders: Millie Bright [Chelsea], Alex Greenwood [Manchester City], Lucy Bronze [Barcelona], Jess Carter [Chelsea], Niamh Charles [Chelsea], Lotte Wubben-Moy [Arsenal], Esme Morgan [Manchester City]
Midfielders: Keira Walsh [Barcelona], Georgia Stanway [Bayern Munich], Ella Toone [Manchester United], Jordan Nobbs [Aston Villa], Laura Coombs [Manchester City], Katie Zelem [Manchester United]
Attackers: Beth England [Tottenham], Rachel Daly [Aston Villa], Lauren Hemp [Manchester City], Lauren James [Chelsea], Katie Robinson [Brighton & Hove Albion], Chloe Kelly [Manchester City], Alessia Russo [Manchester United]
