England Under-20s World Cup: Erica Meg Parkinson withdraws from camp

Teenager Erica Meg Parkinson has withdrawn from England’s training camp before the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland next month.

The North Carolina Courage midfielder, 18, was named in Lydia Bedford’s 24-player squad for the warm-weather camp in Portugal, but has decided to stay with her club instead.

Club-mate Lauryn Thompson has also withdrawn, with the pair now expected to remain involved with Courage, who are sixth and in contention for a National Women’s Soccer League play-off spot.

Manchester United’s Jessica Anderson and West Ham’s Sienna Wareing have been called up as their replacements for the camp, after which Bedford will name her 21-player World Cup squad on 20 August.

Parkinson was part of Sarina Wiegman’s senior set-up for the games against Spain and Iceland in April and has also featured for the Under-23 side.

Arsenal pair Sophie Harwood and Jessie Gale, as well as Eva Hendle, who joined Rangers on loan from Chelsea last month, are part of the Under-20 group.

They are scheduled to face Portugal in a friendly in Lisbon on Thursday.

It is England’s fourth training camp over the summer, with Bedford’s side having beaten Canada and Colombia, drawn with the USA and lost to Japan so far.

It will be England’s first appearance at an Under-20 Women’s World Cup since 2018 and they have been drawn in a group featuring Brazil, Tanzania and Canada.

They will begin their campaign against Canada on Saturday, 5 September.

“We’ve had a really positive summer with some strong performances against top-quality opposition,” Bedford said. “The players have embraced every challenge and I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made.

“With the World Cup squad announcement just around the corner, it’s an important opportunity for the players to show what they can do.”