As the Lionesses travel to Dublin to face off against the Republic of Ireland for the first time in ten years, Leah Williamson joined manager Sarina Wiegman in her MD-1 press conference in Ireland’s capital.

Williamson makes her full return to the national team side after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in April of last year. The defender digested the prolonged journey on the sidelines, expressing her upmost excitement in making her return to the England squad.

“I’ve enjoyed watching the girls, I’ve enjoyed being a part of that journey in a different way. I’ve obviously got people playing in the team that are very important to me. It’s been a difficult journey, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t the thing I have sort of had my focus on. This is where I wanted to get back to, I wanted to be good enough to get back into this squad. I’ve had some of the best memories of my life playing for this team.”

Speaking with pride on how the prospect of making her Lionesses return under the lights of AVIVA Stadium tomorrow evening, Williamson joked that “I’m an emotional person, we’ve all seen me cry on many occasions”. Continuing, she said “Like I said, if there’s a team that you want to be in in the world, I think the Lionesses would be up there. I love playing for England.”

After a Wembley Stadium stalemate with Sweden on Friday evening, Sarina Wiegman’s England side will now turn their attention toward a highly anticipated meeting with the Girls in Green. The Republic of Ireland showed their bite in a close encounter with France on Friday night, as Eileen Gleeson’s side continue to prove why they will not roll over inside the battles of a difficult qualification group.

Speaking on Tuesday’s performance, Williamson expressed “I’m expecting them to be very disciplined in the way they defend, a 1-0 result against France. I think it’s going to be a test for us to move the ball and move them, I see the battles. Obviously they’ve got key players up the top, but also obviously a strong defensive line as well. I know all those girls really well, it’s going to be a good one.”

The Lionesses have raised the popularity of women’s football over recent years, coming off the back of their home soil victory at the 2022 European Championships. In what has been a significant few years for the England side, Williamson reflects on the growth of the squad in what has been a busy few years within the white lines.

“The environment is still a nice one to be in, which is great news coming back in. We weren’t lucky, we worked hard for it- but I think in 2021/22 things really went our way and we played such high level stuff. We always say with the EUROs, everything we touched was golden.

When we went to the World Cup, [there was] so many different challenges. Different teams, the World Cup is just a bit of a crazy environment and we found a way to win every time. I think you’ve seen different sides of England over the last couple of years, and a team that show we can be competitive against anyone.

When we’re at our game, then I think we’re impressive to watch. I think that’s what the difference that I’ve seen coming back in- the competitiveness and the want to be better within the squad is still the same.”

As Wiegman confirms Williamson will start in Tuesday’s meeting with Republic of Ireland at AVIVA Stadium, the defender further digests her recovery journey to pull on the Three Lions crest once again.

“I think being in a team this good, I felt like it was the next stage in my recovery [and] my journey back to playing again. I love being around the team, I love the processes that we have.

The level in this team is so high. Especially in my unit, I think the options and the versatility of the whole unit is a great thing to have for England. But the level of performance is so high, and coming back in I’ve known that there is pressure to reach a certain level, and I’ve been chasing that the whole time.”

Arsenal teammate Katie McCabe will go head-to-head with some of her Gunners teammates tomorrow night, as Alessia Russo, Beth Mead, and Lotte Wubben-Moy travel to Dublin for the clash. Discussing the threat that McCabe may impose, Williamson spoke of her North London counterpart in high praise.

“I think with Katie [McCabe], she’s a big personality, she’s always been someone who is very proud of where she comes from. I think a lot of people connect to her in that way. I think she knows her strengths, she knows her strengths that can be game-changing as well, which I think has raised the profile of the game- her game, and subsequently Arsenal’s. She’s been an important player for us over the last couple of years.”