“I SEE NO FRIENDS!” London City Lionesses and England star Freya Godfrey on Spain

London City’s Player of the Season, Freya Godfrey, got the call-up from Sarina Wiegman for the Nations League fixtures against Spain and Ukraine, and she tells Helen M Jerome how much the England shirt means to her.

She also talks of intense battles and banter between her English and Spanish club teammates (not to mention the French) and how that plays out in training sessions!

Plus those pinch-me moments and ambitions for club and country, coping with pressure, giving fans the entertainment they deserve… but mostly it’s all about her ongoing rivalry with teammate and ‘frenemy’, Jana Fernandez.

Here’s our conversation in full…

First of all, tell me about your pride and feelings on being called up for England.

I mean, it’s special, you know.

Every time I get the call up… since the first time.

It’s been the same feeling every time.

I’m just so grateful.

Yeah, I can’t put into words, really… other than I’m blessed and I’m excited to go on camp and see the girls again and then train with them.

Because I feel like I learn so much when I’m there.

It’s such a different environment.

It’s just nice to be able to separate the two and enjoy the time with them and then obviously come back to the club.

Is there a certain feeling you get, hopefully not static, when you pull on the England shirt?

It’s just chills, you know.

I think for me, because I came up through the age groups a lot, the shirt itself is the front of it.

But seeing my name on the back, that’s it!

Because when we were younger, we never got that.

So seeing my name on the back is the most surreal feeling.

So if you score for the Lionesses, will you do a lot of pointing to the name on the back?

No, no!

I don’t know what I’d do.

I’d probably not know how to react.

I’d probably just run in a circle or something.

That was a great goal you scored against Villa, the one that won the match.

Yeah, Dan jumped on me.

It was… Nikita Parris played me the ball.

Delphine [Cascarino] is the first one I celebrated with, and then Danielle van de Donk jumped into my arms (top, centre).

Even the fact that I can just say that I played with these three players and they celebrated with me when I scored, that is insane.

They’re legends of the game. Delphine’s still one of the best wingers in the world, to be able to learn from them and have them enjoy my success as well as the team’s success.

It’s such an honour to be with them and be around them.

In all the times you’ve worn the England shirt, whether it’s had your name on or not, what’s been your proudest moment?

In the under-19s, I was captain.

So when my coach made that decision, it was special to me because he worded it in a way that it wasn’t my footballing ability or leadership skills, but more just the fact that I was friends with everyone and I was that person in the team where everyone knew that they could come to me.

Him recognising that in me – looking away from my footballing abilities – that was a really proud moment for me and who I want to be as a person.

And then, of course, the call-up, the first camp, beats anything.

Who were you playing against when you were captain?

I think my first game as captain was against Sweden.

So your coach must have noticed in the dressing room that you were good at communicating?

Yeah, I just think I want to be friends with everyone.

I want to make sure that everyone’s comfortable in the environment.

I’d been on the 19s for a couple of years and there were people I knew, people I didn’t know; new people every camp.

And for me, a big thing is making sure everyone’s comfortable in the environment.

I think I took that responsibility on myself and I would have done it whether or not he made me captain, as that’s what I’ve done before.

Yeah, I just want to make sure that everyone’s happy and everyone’s comfortable and everyone knows that if they’re not, then they can come to me.

These Nations League games coming up, which are World Cup qualifiers – Spain and then Ukraine – how big and important are they?

Yeah, I mean, of course, they’re massive.

We want to win every game.

We want to finish top of the group and qualify automatically.

I think that’s obviously the biggest goal.

You know, the Spain game will be a real test.

Ukraine as well.

They put up a good fight last time.

So I think it’ll be interesting to see how the games go.

And yeah, of course, we want to win both of them and top the group.

Looking at the way you play at London City, Jana Fernandez is your teammate and your great friend, and you link up for assists and goals down the same side – and I wonder how your teamwork and friendship have evolved as the season has gone on?

Yeah, we’ve spent a lot of time working with each other and also just talking with each other.

From the start of the season we could see that this was the relationship the coaches wanted.

So we thought it was really important ourselves to actually work on it and not just ‘go with the flow’ kind of thing.

We spent a lot of time talking, and in training sometimes we argue, it’s the nature of the game, sometimes we bicker about things, and we have little squabbles because we both want the best for each other.

We don’t always agree on the same things and then we talk about it. And in the games it comes out naturally, we know each other so well, we bounce off each other so well.

And she’s a really good teammate to have. I know, no matter what I do in front of her, she’s always going to be behind me and she’s always going to be working hard.

Yeah, she’s pushed me so much this season and I don’t think I would have had this season I’ve had, and the confidence and the success I’ve had individually, if I didn’t have her behind me.

I actually owe her a lot. She’s a very good teammate. She’s a very good right back and a good person as well, to know off the field.

What are the specific things you’ve learned from Jana – and she’s learned from you?

Her work rate and her mindset.

I remember when we first started training together, I lost the ball. I was behind, Jana had overlapped me and I lost the ball and I was like oh… and then she sprinted past me to win the ball back and swore at me as she was going past, and she was like: run! And I was like: oh gosh, I better get running.

So she was harder on me at first and I think my defensive outputs have increased a lot because she’s onto me about it… which I respect a lot. She’s not afraid to tell me and to speak to me honestly.

I value her opinion; when she came to the club, she’d won three Champions Leagues!

She’s played with the best players in the world, I would be stupid not to listen to her!

What have you taught her then?

I wouldn’t have a clue.

Probably how to do a step over!

Oh, I think Delphine can teach everyone about step overs! We lost count of them against Villa.

Yeah, magic.

She was very, very good.

Okay, so you are frenemies though when it’s Spain v England! Is it possible to put this strong friendship to one side? I mean, if you were going in for a tackle or a 50-50 ball and you saw Jana steaming in, what would you do?

Well, I mean, that happens every day in training.

There’s no friendship there if we’re not on the same team.

We are probably two of the most competitive people you’ll meet.

So, when it comes to the national team… I see no friends on the other side.

There are no friends on the other team, even in club games.

I know so many people in the WSL and it doesn’t matter. We’re out to win the game.

You have so many Spanish players already at the club and possibly another couple about to join, but in the way they play and their mentality, how have they maybe changed and improved London City?

I think the thing that stands out to me most about them, which I didn’t expect, is the tenacity.

You know, they’ll all just stick a leg in; they’re not afraid to get hurt.

Obviously, when you think of Spain, you think of tiki-taka, pretty football.

So that surprised me a lot.

And I think they’ve driven the intensity in our games.

That’s probably the biggest thing that I’d say that they’ve brought – to me personally – is the intensity and the passion they have.

It’s unique the way you’ve got Jana behind you on the right, and then on the left, you’ve got Poppy [Pattinson] often behind Lucia [Corrales]… I can’t think of an equivalent in another team…

What, in Spanish and English?

Hmmm, I don’t know.

Do you think they’ve got the same rapport that you have with Jana, or is that evolving too?

I think theirs is evolving.

I think me and Jana have spent a lot more time together.

But Poppy and Lucia are very good friends.

Similar to me and Jana, we all get along so well.

So yeah, it’ll be funny seeing Lucia as well.

You know, I’m sat here thinking that I want them to do well, but not against us, I can’t.

But they’re such good people.

We all get along so well.

Me and Poppy especially, we love the Spanish girls.

And Izzy [Goodwin] and Teyah [Goldie], all of us English lot, we love the Spanish.

We have such a good relationship with them and they’re just really fun people, which I think we are as well.

So we just bounce off each other really well.

And Maria Perez as well, who’s been more of an anchor. She’s like a motor, isn’t she?

Yeah, she just keeps going.

She holds the ship together.

She’s so good. Her work rate is second to none.

When she’s playing, you always know what you’re going to get from her, which is really reliable.

And the other girls can’t compliment her enough.

The other thing that struck me that the Spanish have done since the beginning of the season – with more and more players coming in – they’ve made the structure more fluid and flexible?

Yeah, I think so.

It helps that we’ve got so many good players.

So we can chop and change every week and the standards don’t drop.

And then, you’ve always got incredible talent on the bench to come on.

I think we’ve been able to be to be more fluid and flexible in terms of who we’re playing at the weekend.

We have different structures and different players who fit different profiles to suit the way that we want to play against certain opposition.

And I think that’s credit to the team we’ve built.

Is there a bit of dressing room banter that you and your English pals have with the Spanish, a little healthy banter?

Yes, there is a lot of it.

We had a training session the other day where it was an English team, a Spanish team, a French team, and then the rest of the world.

And the general consensus was: do not let the Spanish win.

Whatever we do, do not let the Spanish win because we love them, but they are so competitive that when they win they are so irritating.

So it got to the point where the French were trying to help us English win, and we had a joint forces connection against the Spanish!

There’s always banter because we’re in England and there’s so many Spanish people here.

It’s just a big joke and it’s all good fun. Yeah, it goes both ways and it’s funny.

Is the dressing room set up so you have the Spanish in one corner?

Yeah, pretty much.

You’ve got obviously the French people will speak in French, then some of us would try to speak French with them because we have such a big culture divide.

You know, you’ve got Saki who’s Japanese but can speak French.

You’ve got Elena Linari who’s Italian but can speak English, French and Spanish.

We have so many people who can communicate across all the different cultures, which I think is beautiful.

It’s such a nice place to be around because everyone wants to communicate.

But then we also have certain people who are easier to communicate with.

So, yeah, it’s good for all the Spanish people to have people from Spain and the French people to have people from France, you know?

My impression, I don’t know if you agree, is that Grace Geyoro’s game has gone up another level since Delphine joined.

Oh, yeah, 100%.

I mean, Grace (below, left) is one of the best midfielders in the world.

She’s incredible and she shows that day in, day out in training.

I think she had a bit of a tough start. But now we’re really seeing the best of her.

And yeah, it’s helped a lot having Delphine (below, centre) here.

They’re good friends.

I just hope that they can continue building on their relationship next season.

They’re going to be such important players for us next year.

You talk about no-one wanting the Spanish to win. So how does having a Spanish head coach (Eder Maestre, above right) add to this rich mix?

Well, we have our Spanish coaches who ref the games.

So if there’s a decision that goes towards Spain, it doesn’t go down well.

But then they try and even it up towards us by giving us a dodgy decision and it can cause chaos!

But no, at the end of the day, it’s good that we’re such a competitive team.

After the session, we all laugh about it. It’s good fun.

As a fan and spectator you’ve obviously witnessed a lot of England v Spain games in person and on TV. Why do you think it’s become such a huge rivalry? And who has the upper hand now?

Well, I think they’re two of the biggest powerhouses in women’s football.

Two of the best teams in the world. And probably the two best teams in Europe.

It’s two different styles of football.

And the teams get better each and every time they play.

They’re always finding different ways to try and beat each other, which I think is a beautiful thing.

And I think, like you say, it’s become a bit of a rivalry.

Obviously, with Spain winning the World Cup and England getting the Euros.

So I’m interested to see, with the qualifications and then hopefully in the World Cup next year what happens. And every game they play each other is always entertaining.

I think even the last game at Wembley, every game just gets better because they’re finding different ways to beat each other.

Can you remember any England v Spain games that stand out as ones you’ve enjoyed most?

I remember we watched the Euros final last year as a team.

It was England v Spain, when England won on penalties.

And we [London City] were in the Netherlands on a pre-season tour.

Maria Perez covered her face, half red, half yellow.

And Izzy Goodwin’s gone full white face with a red cross down it!

You know, the Spanish girls were wearing their flags.

We’ve got our flags on and we’re trying to convince all the other countries to support our country and we all sat there watching it as a team.

And I think for me that was not only because I was watching it with my team, but also watching Michelle [Agyemang] be there.

The pride I felt watching her lift the trophy and her being Young Player of the Tournament and have such an incredible tournament… I think that’s probably my most memorable game.

The women’s game is moving very fast, but sometimes I think it could get a bit faster.

And I wonder how important you think it is in giving entertainment, playing entertaining football, in bringing fans to the women’s game, not just to the WSL, but to the Sevens, the internationals, etc.

Yeah, definitely.

I think it’s so important, building fan bases.

That’s something that London City have focused a lot on and it’s not just with the football; it’s about the engagement off the pitch.

I know the team put in a lot of work around fan zones before the game and making it an entertaining environment to be in… then come to the game and watch entertaining football.

People talk about it a lot, that especially in the men’s game, they’ve lost entertaining players, it’s very robotic these days.

And I think for me as a player, that’s something that I try and remember.

You know, we’ve got Delphine (below, left), and every time I watch her, I’m just like: she’s a magician, she’s so entertaining to watch!

I think players like that are so important to the game.

And you’ve got players who can score goals week in week out, like Bunny Shaw (above, centre), she’s incredible.

I think entertaining players and entertaining games, people that are passionate, people like Jana who just fly into a tackle and scream if she’s tackled someone, that kind of passion is so important to bring to the fans as well.

I was watching the Champions League final and when Barcelona started to get momentum, you can see them shouting to the fans and trying to rile up the crowd and the crowd buying into it.

Things like that, I think the women’s game is so good at, having this relationship with the crowd and keeping them feeling like they’re part of it.

My next question is about the importance of the fans, not just for London City, but for England as well. As with the Champions League, as you say, where there was a mutual buzz.

Have you ever felt that from the crowd and it’s given you that extra bit of energy or momentum?

Yeah, I mean, obviously when I was at Arsenal and for England especially, playing in front of sold-out stadiums, you can see the momentum it gives the players on the pitch.

But for me personally, being at Bromley and everyone’s so close, I’ll be on the pitch, by the sideline because obviously I’m a winger so I’m close to it… and I can hear things people are saying.

People are shouting and I can hear individual things that they’re saying – obviously that could be negative sometimes – but a lot of the time it is positive, and it really boosts me even if it’s just someone saying: oh give Freya the ball! And I’m like: yeah give me the ball.

It gives me confidence because I know the fans are backing me and they want me to do something and trust me to do something with it. So whether it’s a sold-out Wembley in front of 90,000 people or at Bromley in front of 4,000, that’s so important and you can really feel the energy.

It strikes me that you’re probably good at lots of other sports. Are there other women’s sports you like watching or playing?

I loved basketball when I was younger, loved it.

And we went to Washington for pre-season.

I think it was last year with Arsenal, and we got to meet some of the players, and I was fan-girling so badly.

I don’t really follow it much because it’s hard with the timings of the game, but yeah, I love basketball.

So is that the one you’d play if you weren’t a footballer?

Yeah, 100%.

I love basketball as well. It’s much better to be there. It’s not the same watching on TV, is it?

Oh yeah, exactly.

You just have ad breaks all the time.

Again, the basketball crowd are just nuts, aren’t they?

Yeah, I went to the London NBA game this year with my dad, and it was so cool.

But I would see videos of even the Turkish League and the fans are insane.

You’d probably have to be another foot taller to play yourself though, wouldn’t you?

Yeah, exactly!

When you are playing, how do you cope with pressure?

Because sport, even though it’s fun and entertaining for you as a player, often brings quite a bit of pressure. Have you got a good way you deal with it?

Yeah, of course, it comes with the job, having pressure.

It’s something you naturally learn… well, for me personally. I know everyone deals with it differently.

Some people use others; they speak to people and stuff like that.

But I think it’s enjoying the pressure, for me personally; it’s how privileged I am that I’m in this position to have that pressure on me.

People have expectations of me, I have expectations of myself, and I’ve got myself in that position.

So I think reminding myself that I’m grateful and it’s a privilege to have the pressure, you know.

You’re still young, so what are your biggest ambitions in football?

I think short-term ambitions are I want to build my consistency across next season, build on the season that I’ve had and try and get better and learn from the people I’m playing with.

Obviously, I would love to go to the World Cup.

But my biggest goal short-term is to build the consistency and put myself in a good position at my club to be considered for that.

Even being considered for it would be an incredible achievement and privilege.

Long term, obviously, I want to win everything!

You know, Champions League, World Cup, Euros, and the girls are showing that it’s all possible.

Having role models like the Euros winners and obviously when I was at Arsenal last year, watching them win the Champions League, it’s all right there in front of me and it just makes me want it even more every time.

Also you’re an intelligent person, and I wonder if you’ve already thought about things like coaching – or is that too far ahead?

I don’t think I’d want to be a coach.

I have things that I want to do within football, I mean, maybe things would change.

Maybe my brain would change, like you said, I’m still young.

So I have time to think about it, and I do have some ideas, but I don’t think I’d want to be a coach.

So are your ideas are more like business and football?

Yeah, I’m quite passionate about charities and stuff like that.

We recently had a project at the club with Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid, which I had a bit of a part in.

So I’d like to explore how I can help. Whether it’s an individual club or a league, how can I help teams better work with charities, in and around the area or more nationwide ones.

Clubs have such a big and important platform that they have access to millions and millions of people, and I don’t think we use it enough to help other people.

So that’s what I’m quite passionate about.

It sounds like you’ve got quite strong values. And I wonder what qualities you’ve inherited from your mum and your dad. I imagine they’re both quite different.

Yeah, my dad is very humble. He’s very headstrong and driven with his work.

And my mum is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Yeah, they’re both incredible.

Without them, I would never be where I am and I owe them so much.

And, you know, they’re two of my best friends in life.

They’re very good people and I’m proud to have them as my parents.

If they’re ever at a game, I always say to my friends: oh, come say hi, or come meet my parents because I’m so proud to show them off.

My friends love them; everyone loves them.

And do you share any of these qualities with your twin?

Yeah my twin is similar to them. He’s hilarious, he’s so funny, we get along so well and he’s just a decent human being. He’s at uni right now and very dedicated and driven with that.

He’s very passionate about what he’s doing, which is admirable.

Yeah, he’s just a good guy. I love being around him.

I love being around my family.

They’re good people.

So it sounds like you’ve inherited a sense of humour as well, then.

Yeah, they’re funny. They make me laugh.

That’s why I love being around them.

We just laugh all the time.

Okay, so final question. What has football taught you in life skills?

Patience, a lot of patience, discipline, hard work.

There’s so many, especially when I was younger and coming up through the academy. There’s so many things that happen in football that you can relate back to general life, that maybe you don’t see at the time.

Whether it’s being injured and not rushing back from an injury. Or it’s not getting selected for a squad or starting on the bench. At the time it’s the worst thing in the world, but it actually teaches you so much in general life – and also about myself and how I can deal with things better…

To be honest, it’s taught me pretty much everything!

Spain v England Friday 5^th June 7pm, England v Ukraine Tuesday 9^th June 8pm

Photos: Helen M Jerome, Nina Farooqi/London City Lionesses