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Phil Neville's young Lionesses special, says Siobhan Chamberlain

'It's always good to have young players come in and we had so many players make their debut in the last camp'

Siobhan Chamberlain
Image: Siobhan Chamberlain has praised the current crop of debutants in the England Women squad

As the oldest member of the England Women squad, Siobhan Chamberlain has seen plenty of players come and go but reckons Phil Neville's current crop of debutants are a bit special.

Since securing qualification for the 2019 World Cup in France at the end of August, Neville handed first caps to three players and first starts to four against Kazakhstan.

There were maiden caps for Gabby George and Lucy Staniforth, who was Player of the Match in the final qualifier, with Arsenal duo Leah Williamson and Beth Mead getting starts.

Chamberlain, 35, has a half-century of caps to her name and argues the coming generation have a groundswell of competitive experience to draw on in their early international exploits.

England Women manager Phil Neville
Image: Phil Neville's side have qualified for next summer's World Cup

"It's always good to have young players come in and we had so many players make their debut in the last camp," said the Manchester United stopper. "It's great to give them exposure to top opposition - not just looking ahead to this tournament, but tournaments going forward.

"They're people we're going to be relying on soon. It's a good dynamic and a range of experience and youth in the squad now. Even though some of the players are a lot younger, they've been around top teams for a long time and have a good deal of experience in youth teams and age-groups.

"They might not have that senior-level experience but they're still able to hit the ground running with us."

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As a veteran of three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA Women's Championships, Chamberlain is an old hand when it comes to building up for major tournaments.

The coaching staff outlined that at the start of last week's camp at St George's Park, only 25 sessions remained before next summer's showpiece.

Chamberlain has a key role as a senior member of the dressing-room and echoed the management's stance that October's friendly matches signal the start of the road to France.

Carly Telford
Image: Carly Telford kept a clean sheet in the weekend's 1-0 win over Brazil

"I think the World Cup does start now for us and if you count the number of training sessions, it comes around a lot quicker than you expect," she said.

"All of our focus will be on doing well in France next summer. Phil has been in the role for ten months now and people are already well-accustomed to his demands and his methods.

"The friendlies we've had are great preparation. You tend to play European teams quite frequently. The opportunity to play top quality opposition from around the world is exactly what we need ahead of the World Cup."

England Women face Australia in an international match at Fulham FC's Craven Cottage on 9 October (KO 7pm). Tickets £10 Adults/£1 Concessions at www.thefa.com/tickets

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