Everton international round-up: Blues suffer an injury setback ahead of their match against West Ham
The Everton Women column for this week summarises a hectic few weeks of international play in advance of the Blues’ matchup with West Ham.
Despite the lack of Premier League action last weekend, Everton’s international players have had a busy few weeks travelling the world with their separate national teams.
Goalkeeper Emily Ramsey helped England Under-23s end the year unbeaten, with the Young Lionesses securing a 1-0 victory over France at Clairefontaine and holding Spain to a 1-1 draw at St George’s Park. It was also a fruitful international break for Republic of Ireland duo Courtney Brosnan and Heather Payne, who both starred as the Girls in Green beat Hungary 1-0 in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Eileen Gleeson’s side maintained their perfect record in the competition with a 6-1 demolition of Northern Ireland on Tuesday, with Payne applying the finishing touch to a slick move for the visitors in Belfast. It was a similarly thrilling evening for Everton forward Katja Snoeijs, who came off the bench to help the Netherlands secure the 4-0 win they needed to advance to the Nations League semi-finals.
The Blues no. 8 played the full duration of the Red Flames’ match against the Dutch and their 1-1 tie with Scotland in Leuven last week. That victory came against Justine Vanhaevermaet’s Belgium team. A sad few weeks passed for the Danish players at Everton, as Andrée Jeglertz’s team lost to Germany and Iceland back-to-back.
Blues manager Brian Sorensen will be more worried about defender Katrine Veje’s fitness than Karen Holmgaard and Karoline Olesen, who will be disappointed not to advance to the Nations League semifinals. Veje was forced to leave the Denmark camp on Friday due to an injury she sustained in Rostock.
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It is another blow for Everton, who have already had to contend with their fair share of defensive injuries this term. Another member of the Blues’ back-line, Nathalie Bjorn, featured as Sweden were beaten 1-0 by Switzerland, while team-mate Hanna Bennison came off the bench as Peter Gerhardsson’s side lost 5-3 to Spain in Málaga.
Italian duo Martina Piemonte and Aurora Galli fared better against the world champions when they met in Pontevedra last week, with Le Azzurre running out 3-2 winners at the Estadio Municipal de Pasarón. And both Piemonte and Galli featured again on Tuesday night as Italy scored three without reply against Switzerland in Parma.
Meanwhile, midfielder Clare Wheeler endured a challenging evening against Canada on Saturday, with the Matildas succumbing to a 5-0 friendly defeat at the Starlight Stadium in Langford.
Before the international break, Everton defeated Aston Villa on the road, and Sorensen and his staff will be eager to see his players return to Merseyside in advance of another pivotal Women’s Super League (WSL) match this coming weekend.
The Blues, who are presently seventh in the standings, will try to add to their point total when they play West Ham, a struggling team in the WSL, on Sunday at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. After that, Sorensen’s team will play their final 2023 match at Walton Hall Park against Manchester City on December 17 before hosting city rivals Liverpool in the Continental League Cup.
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