Whitby’s Beth Mead hungry for more after triumphant season with club and country

The Lionesses surged to victory at Euro 2022 to claim the first major trophy in their history with Arsenal winger Mead having a starring role in the campaign that saw her end up with the Golden Boot, having scored six times, and the player of the tournament award.

Yesterday, Mead’s England team-mate – midfielder Jill Scott – announced her retirement from football after a distinguished top-level career.

But after a well-earned break, – including a holiday in Greece where she says there were “a lot of grown men coming up to me saying they cried when we won” – 27-year-old Mead is now preparing to return to action.

England boss Sarina Wiegman today names her squad for a double-header of qualifiers against Austria and Luxembourg on September 3 and 6, in which the team will look to seal qualification for next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The 2022-23 Women’s Super League then gets under way the following weekend.

And Whitby-born Mead, who was in great form for club and country across 2021-22, said: “I loved last season, probably one of my best on a football pitch career-wise, and for me, it’s just (feeling) hungry – you want more.

“I’m very motivated and hungry to try to replicate and do it all over again. There’s a little bit more pressure maybe, but I’m looking forward to it.

“You get that feeling of winning something and you want it more.”

Regarding England, she added: “Maybe when we meet up we’ll sit as a group and think ‘wow, we actually did this’. But now we want to do more. Yes, we’ve won a Euros, we’ve inspired a nation. But still we want more.”