Georgia Stanway said she has learned a vital lesson during this England camp – always put your football boots in your hand luggage.
Stanway flew to the Lionesses camp in Marbella from Germany, where she plays her club football with Bayern Munich, but unfortunately her suitcase did not arrive with her.
Stanway, who had to borrow a pair of boots for her first two days of training, told the story during her pre-match press conference with Sarina Wiegman, who was also hearing the tale for the first time – which led to an amusing exchange between the pair.
Wiegman: You don’t have your football stuff?
England star Georgia Stanway was left without her boots during their Marbella training camp
England coach Sarina Wiegman told Stanway that packed boots in hand luggage was key
Stanway: You don’t know that story!
Wiegman: If you need some stuff from me that’s fine..
Stanway: We had a little bit of a drama because it got left in Germany and I had nothing. But an U23 player, Freya [Gregory], I was able to wear her boots for the first two days.
Wiegman: Gasps
Stanway: And then we sent Maria to the shop last night. But hopefully my suitcase turns up in the next few days. The biggest lesson I learned was put your boots in your hand luggage.
Wiegman: I thought you would have learned that a long time ago on the pathway!
Stanway (left) was able to borrow a pair of boots to train in until a new pair were sourced
Meanwhile, Wiegman has promised to rotate her squad for England’s friendlies against Austria and Italy and the manager is expected to field two different starting XIs for each game.
The Lionesses are preparing for the Euro 2025 qualifiers, which start in April, but Wiegman has rarely had the chance to experiment due to the constant cycle of tournament football.
If Wiegman does indeed field a completely different starting XI in the second game, against Italy, it would be the first time she has done so during her tenure.
