Sarina Wiegman rarely springs a surprise, but her latest call-up to the Lionesses squad, of 17-year-old midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, is probably one of her biggest curveballs yet.
Parkinson is the only current England women’s player to ply her trade in Portugal’s first division with Valadares Gaia and is continuing her development abroad at a remarkably young age.
If she were to make an appearance in one of the Lionesses’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Spain or Iceland, she would be the youngest debutant by some distance. Euros hero Michelle Agyemang currently holds that record, having been 19 years and 64 days when she came off the bench to score 41 seconds into her debut against Belgium last April.
Having played for England’s youth teams, including the U16s, U17s and U19s, Parkinson received her first Under-23s call-up last November and was particularly impressive against Norway.
Technically astute, with terrific close ball control and hold-up play while also being distinctly attack-minded, she was one of the best players on the pitch for large portions of the game, catching the eye despite lining up alongside players up to six years her senior.
There is a reel of Parkinson’s impressive moments on YouTube under the handle @Ericaparky7 – presumably run by Parkinson herself – otherwise knowledge of the youngster still remains fairly limited at this stage.
Parkinson was left just as surprised as the rest of us when she received the call from the back-to-back Euro-winning coach earlier this week.
Erica Meg Parkinson, 17, has been handed a shock call-up to Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses squad for their upcoming World Cup friendlies against Spain and Iceland
Injuries to Ella Toone, Grace Clinton, Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones has left the Lionesses with a dearth of tried and trusted attacking output
‘She was surprised. Well, first of all, she was speechless. But she was very happy and excited,’ Wiegman said.
Speaking to Parkinson last November, her accent is a muddled blend of English and American – some words belonging to one inflection, others somehow containing both. An inevitable outcome of her ability to speak four languages – English, Japanese, Portuguese and French.
The second thing that quickly becomes apparent is her maturity for her age.
‘I’m Japanese on my mum’s side, and also English, but I grew up in Singapore,’ she said. ‘I went to an international school so I got to be around a lot of different people and knew how to deal with that and handle that and appreciate that.’
Asked why she had chosen England among four international options, Parkinson said: ‘England were the first country that invited me into the national training centre.
‘They sent a scout out to Portugal to see my games. I was playing with boys at that point. They saw some clips of me online and realised I was half-English.
‘Once I got here, I just really liked the culture. Everyone is kind but also ambitious. I enjoyed the way England conducted themselves in the training sessions and the style of play in games.’
Injuries to Grace Clinton, Ella Toone, Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones have left England with a dearth of tried and trusted attacking output, and perhaps Wiegman is recognising that the unknown – as was the case with Agyemang last summer – could be the solution going forward. She has a year to mastermind a run to the World Cup final in Brazil and land the most coveted prize in the game, and is exploring every available option.
Playing in Portugal, Parkinson recognises, is completely different to playing in England.
‘Portuguese style of football is very different,’ she said. ‘It’s a bit less focussed on tactics and it’s more about playing with passion, being a bit more fluid, similar to in Spain.
‘When I come here, I need to turn on my tactical brain and be a bit more disciplined on the pitch.’
While Wiegman said she would have to be truly taken aback by Parkinson to consider starting her against Spain, perhaps a curveball is exactly what she feels her team needs right now.
