UK Edition
Beth Mead can be real threat for England at World Cup, says Phil Neville
The England head coach Phil Neville has said Arsenal forward Beth Mead is not merely knocking on the door of his first choice World Cup XI but is “inside the door, to be honest”.
Neville feels Mead, 24, has turned a corner since making her international debut in April last year against Wales. Five goals in 13 Lionesses appearances, including an assist in England’s 2-0 win over Denmark on Saturday, have made Mead one of her country’s brightest attacking talents in their pursuit of the Women’s World Cup in France this summer - but Neville believes she only became so after he gave her “the biggest rocket” over the phone in January.
“She’s ready to play,” said Neville. “She wasn’t six months ago. We had very harsh words with her, and she knew it. We had to really tell her a few home truths about someone who was probably just at the level she was happy with. But we knew she could go to a different level. Now we’re beginning to think she could be a real threat for us in the World Cup.
“I think if there’s one player I’ve given the biggest rocket to, it was her and it was in January, over the phone. We laugh about it now. She didn’t argue back and she made a promise to me she would make that change. I said to her, ‘Stop being too nice.’”
Neville watched the penny drop at the SheBelieves Cup in the United States. Mead “got angry” with Neville for the first time when he left the Whitby-born former Sunderland forward, who had scored the winner after coming on a substitute in the previous game against Brazil, out of England’s starting XI for the game against the US.
“She literally stormed out of the room, angry,” Neville said. “I thought, job done - she’s ready now. She’s now beginning to be a player.
“When I went out of the room - and she’s the nicest kid ever - I actually went past her smiling. She just went, ‘Shut up! Shut up!’ She knew, but the anger I see in her now, the aggression and determination, is there.
“She’s tougher. Tougher mentally. She has aggression. She doesn’t give up. She gives one ball away but doesn’t let it matter to her.
“She hit 40 free-kicks on Friday, 30 corners. She is working unbelievably hard. The penny has dropped. It’s like, ‘Do you want to go to Blackpool on your holidays, or do you want to go to the Moon?’ She now wants to go to the Moon. Before she was happy to go to Whitley Bay and have fish and chips.
“Her delivery is as good as anyone in the women’s game in terms of the speed and the way she slaps the ball across. Every free-kick now is a threat. We have her hitting 20, 30, 40 balls every day into areas, every single day. It’s working. But we had to give her some real tough love.”
Mead added: “When Phil talked to me on the phone it did make me angry because I thought, why did I not do that myself? Why did I need someone to say it to me?
“I’m very glad he did, but maybe I should have taken the initiative.”