REVEALED: England star who has gone from serving fish and chips in Barnsley to a World Cup final… as the Lioness reveals the hard graft that’s gone into her football career
An England Lioness has spoken of the long route she’s taken from a Barnsley fish and chip shop to the World Cup final.
Sarina Wiegman’s side will face Spain on Sunday in the England women’s team’s first World Cup final.
Yet it’s a far cry from one star’s early beginnings, where she was handing chips to locals in the Yorkshire town as she juggled a day job around her footballing career and finishing her A Levels.
After spending four years with Barnsley’s youth team, this England player signed for Sheffield United’s all-girls team before moving to Doncaster Belles, aged 16, to become a first-team regular.
However, her fledging football career had to be worked around her 9-5 shifts serving cod and chips, sometimes working on match days and having just three hours sleep before taking her place up front for the Belles.
Bethany England has come a long way after beginning her career at Doncaster Belles
England used to juggle shifts working in a fish and chip shop alongside her football career
The England striker made sure of her World Cup place after scoring 13 goals for Tottenham
The tough routine saw striker Bethany England admit in a 2020 interview that it was the hard graft that helped her get where she is today.
‘Everyone’s journey is different,’ England said.
‘I can’t say mine has been easy. It’s just been a long old roll, just putting myself out there, trying to prove myself.
‘I have always been a grafter. My parents brought me up to never give up and be a worker.’
The work certainly paid off for England. After helping Doncaster to promotion in 2016, she earned herself a move to WSL side Chelsea.
During her time with the Blues, the Lioness scored over 70 goals for the club and win four WSL titles, as coach Emma Hayes hailed her as the best number nine in the league.
The striker came off the bench and scored in England’s penalty shootout win over Nigeria
Chelsea coach Emma Hayes called England the WSL’s best number nine during her seven-year stint with the Blues
Seeking more first-team opportunities ahead of this summer’s World Cup, England moved to Spurs in January for a domestic record fee of £250,000 and her 13 goals helped the club avoid relegation.
That form secured her a place in Wiegman’s World Cup squad and England has already played an important role in the team’s run to the final.
The Tottenham striker has proved to be a useful weapon for Wiegman’s side, coming off the bench as another attacking option in games against Denmark, China, Nigeria and Colombia.
She held her nerve to slot home one of the spot-kicks in the Lionesses penalty shootout win over Nigeria in the last 16.
Now the striker could go from serving up dinner to Barnsley locals, to help serving up England’s first World Cup triumph since 1966.
