Women's Football: Chelsea's Katie Chapman named in England squad for Cyprus Cup

Chelsea Ladies midfielder Katie Chapman has been included in England Women’s manager Mark Sampson’s 23-strong squad for next month’s Cyprus Cup.

Mum-of-three Chapman returned to the England fold after a five-year absence when she earned her first call-up from Sampson for last week’s friendly against USA in Milton Keynes.

Chelsea team-mate Claire Rafferty is recalled to the squad but Manchester City Women’s duo Toni Duggan and Lucy Bronze remain absent as they continue their recovery from injury.

The annual invitational tournament in Cyprus is the last competition England are scheduled to play in before the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

England play Finland in Larnaca on March 4, before taking on fellow-World Cup finalists Australia and Netherlands in Nicosia on March 6 and 9 respectively.

Sampson’s side will play one final game - on Wednesday March 11 – which will determine their finishing position in the tournament.

England won the 12-team tournament in 2013 and finished runners-up to France last year.

Arsenal Ladies goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain is a Cyprus Cup veteran and insists winning the tournament would be the ideal preparation for this summer’s World Cup.

Chamberlain told Sky Sports: “It’s a great competition to give people tournament experience because friendlies take place every couple of months whereas at a World Cup or a European Championships you can play six games on the bounce.

World Cup 

“How does your body adapt to that? How do you mentally adapt to that? Although the Cyprus Cup is a friendly tournament you’re in it to win it and you have to treat it like a World Cup Finals.

“It’s also a good experience especially for younger players coming through to get the vibe of how it all works and what you need to put your bodies through in a tournament.”

On Chapman’s return to international football, Chamberlain added: “Katie is a great player. She gives something a little bit different to the squad.

“She’s combative and you don’t like playing against her because you know you’ve been in a game. She’s got that physical presence and she’s great in the air but she is also a technical player, so I think she adds a lot of quality to the squad.”

Reading Women’s striker Fran Kirby will also play in the Cyprus Cup and the youngster is looking forward to playing in her first senior international tournament.

Kirby said: “Being able to play in a tournament is going to amazing for me. I represented Team GB in Kazan at the World University Games (in 2013) which was my first taste of international tournament football, so I’m really excited about the experience and seeing how my body copes playing a number of games in a short space of time.

“It’s going to be a massive learning curve for me and I am just really excited to go.”

England boss Sampson added: "By the end of the Cyprus Cup we will only have two months until we name our final World Cup squad, so this is a big opportunity for the players to stake a claim for a spot.”

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), Carly Telford (Notts County)

Defenders: Laura Bassett (Notts County), Gemma Bonner (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Notts County), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Claire Rafferty (Chelsea), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Casey Stoney (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Karen Carney (Birmingham City), Katie Chapman (Chelsea), Jade Moore (Birmingham City), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jo Potter (Birmingham City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Liverpool)

Forwards: Eni Aluko (Chelsea), Jess Clarke (Notts County), Fran Kirby (Reading), Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal), Jodie Taylor (Portland Thorns)