photo taken from @esme.morgan on Instagram
Following on from the success in the summer, she returned to America and helped her side, Washington Spirit, secure a play-off place but returned to England this break to help her international side in a number of friendlies.
First up, she returns to her old stomping ground as England face Brazil at the Etihad Stadium. Esme is a lifelong Manchester City fan, and during her time with the blues she played a number of games at the Etihad which meant a lot to her younger self. When speaking to the media today at St George’s Park, she stated: “It’s very exciting for me being a lifelong City fan. It should be a great occasion!”
“It’s a special time for us to be able to come back and be in front of our fans again and celebrate what we did over the summer with those who possibly couldn’t have got out to Switzerland themselves.”
Millie Bright announced her retirement from International football prior to Sarina Wiegman’s squad announcement with this being the first squad after the news. Esme played with Bright for a number of years in the England senior set up and even faced up against her whilst she was playing in the Women’s Super League.
When at her first England camp, Millie made the effort to get to know her and made her feel settled and part of the team. Esme also stated that Millie was “rock” as a player and “reliable, dependable presence at the back.”
“I feel very, very grateful to have been able to create memories together and learn from her both on and off the pitch.”
“She has a lot of passion for everyone in the squad achieving their best…we’ll miss her a lot and I just want to congratulate her on such an incredible career.”
In the 2024 Summer transfer window, she left her childhood club and headed out on new adventures to Washington Spirit in the NWSL. When playing in the NWSL, Esme said she can “challenge herself on a week to week basis through playing consistently against lots of different types of forwards.”
After the win in Switzerland, she headed to the trophy parade at Buckingham Palace but shortly after the celebrations, she had to head back to the states to continue her NWSL campaign. She said to the media today that the Spirit girls celebrated the triumph with her and made her feel special. “It’s nice to be back in an England camp because it feels like home and she can reminisce over [the win] again properly.”
This is the first time the players have returned since the European Championship win in July and when reflecting on the win, Esme said “It is nice to see euro [pean championship] branding everywhere, it feels pretty special!”
On the following Tuesday, she and the rest of the England squad head to Derby as they face Australia, another few familiar faces for both herself and the England squad. After the games in England, she returns to the USA for the final stretch of NWSL games including their play off games.
