View: Aston Villa Women level of success in the international break shows vast quality of squad
Carla Ward would have watched on in delight as a large number of her Aston Villa squad shined for their countries in the recent international break.
After pulling together an impressive four-match unbeaten run in the WSL since the New Year, Ward’s side dispersed to represent their respective countries in a number of different competitions.
The most notable success of the break was the impact that Rachel Daly had on the Lionesses Arnold Cup triumph. After being named on the bench for the first game against Korea Republic, the Villa number nine was named as England’s centre-forward for the crunch clash against Italy and didn’t disappoint.
Her impact was telling, as she netted a clinical brace with a duo of headers to help Sarina Wiegmann’s side edge out Italy 2-1. Alongside Daly, Jordan Nobbs was also granted some minutes from the bench after being called up to the squad as an injury replacement for Fran Kirby in midfield.
Elsewhere for England’s youth sides, Arsenal loanee Anna Patten captained the Under-23s to a resounding 3-1 victory over Belgium, in which she netted the third goal of the match. The 23-year-old was joined by midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown, who made her first start for the youth side in yet another sign of her rapid progression recently.
Aston Villa stalwart Rachel Corsie was a record breaker for Scotland during the international break, as she became the seventh player to reach the 140 cap mark for Scotland in the 2-1 win over the Philippines. The centre-back capped off the landmark with the winning goal in the second half.
Kenza Dali continued her strong goalscoring form for Aston Villa this term with a smartly worked goal for France in the 2-1 win against Uruguay, while Ruesha Littlejohn returned to the grass following her lengthy injury layoff with a substitute appearance for the Republic of Ireland against China.
The number of Villa players representing their countries during the international break is a clear sign of the stark improvements over the last 12 months.
When the club were promoted to the WSL in 2020, there would have only been a small handful of players playing for both club and country, but Ward has worked wonders with her squad since arriving in the West Midlands.
In other Aston Villa news, the club want to reunite with a former player for a fee in excess of £40million in the summer.