PATHWAY TO GLORY? Can the Young Lionesses make a name in the World Cup?

The Under-20s World Cup is happening right now in Poland, and our reporter Phoebe Music spoke to star England players Rachel Maltby and Vera Jones – plus their head coach Lydia Bedford – about the value of such tournaments as both pathways and bonding for Lionesses of the future…

The FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup is underway in Poland, marking England’s first appearance in the tournament since 2018. That squad, which finished an impressive third, featured a number of players who have since gone on to become established Lionesses, including Georgia Stanway, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp.

Head coach Lydia Bedford’s side are in Group B, alongside Canada, Brazil and Tanzania, and opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Canada after Rachel Maltby (above, left) slotted home a late penalty to earn England a point.

The bigger picture extends far beyond youth level. The current senior England squad demonstrates how valuable the pathway can be, with players including Alessia Russo (below, with Stanway, for England) progressing through the youth teams before becoming a senior Lionesses.

Squad Goals

Bedford has previously led Leicester City to safety in the WSL, after breaking barriers as the first female head coach at a Premier League boys’ academy, at Brentford. She also spent several years coaching young Lionesses across the U15-17 age brackets. She returned to the England set-up earlier this year when she was appointed U23 head coach.

Rachel Maltby is a defender at WSL club Aston Villa. After making her breakthrough with the senior team, she became a regular in the matchday squad during the 2025/6 season, making sixteen appearances. She has represented England across various youth levels. Her 89th minute penalty against Canada secured the draw in the young Lionesses’ first game of the tournament.

Vera Jones is a young midfielder who signed a contract extension with Chelsea in August this year. She spent the 2025-26 campaign with Bristol City, and is now on a season-long loan move to Watford in WSL2. She is also a regular England youth international.

Phoebe Music spoke to all three – both the players and their head coach – as they geared up for the World Cup…

Stepping into such a big tournament, you’ve played with quite a few of the girls already. How nice is it to have those familiar faces around you on camp, not only for the bigger tournaments, but also stepping up to Under-20 level?

Rachel Maltby:

I think it’s really important. I think over these youth pathways, the connections you create and kind of the people you meet along the way is really special and a lot of the girls here have also done the Under-17 World Cup with us as well.

I think just building those experiences with them in previous tournaments, it just creates more togetherness coming into this one and being able to play with some of your best friends in football, but also outside of football, because that’s what they become.

They don’t just become football friends. You make those memories happen off the pitch and away from football as well. So I think it’s a real pleasure to have the opportunity to play and be at a World Cup with those people.

Vera Jones:

Yeah, I think the same. A lot of these girls aren’t just teammates now, they’re good friends. And it’s not just talking to them on camp, it’s off camp as well, while at club, and, you know, I’ve got Rach, we’re good friends now, we’re always chatting.

These are some of the closest friends that I have and I think that is because of camp and how much time we spend together so I’m really grateful for that.

How important are these tournaments not only for the players in the transition to senior football but also in terms of the Lionesses, and moving up to the senior team and being noticed?

Lydia Bedford:

They’re incredibly important because for every young player their dream is to play for the Lionesses, and I think anything that can contribute to the learning and development that they need to help them to make that step is important, so I think we’ve said a lot of times that the Under 20s World Cup is the ‘business end’ of the youth pathway.

It’s a major opportunity for them to represent. We don’t always qualify so it’s great that they qualified in the first place, last summer under Lauren Smith [who left her role this March].

I’ve just really picked up the nice end of it in terms of going into the tournament. But the work this group has been putting in has spanned over 12 to 18 months now, and for them to then step onto the pitch and really use this as a platform for their personal and collective careers, I think is beneficial all round.

Photos: Helen M Jerome