Chelsea Women head to the UEFA Women's Euros 2022
The UEFA Women's Euros 2022 is set to begin this Wednesday, so let's have a look at which of our Blues have been called up for international duty. With the opening game of the tournament between England and Austria at Old Trafford, twelve of our Chelsea Women have been gearing up for international action and will be hoping to lead their countries to the Euros final at Wembley...
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany)
Ann-Katrin Berger only joined the international scene in 2018 when she received her first call-up. However, two years passed before she got to make her international debut which came against Germany’s defeat of the Republic of Ireland. Berger now has two caps for Germany and has managed to secure a place in the 2022 Euros squad. Berger has had a tumultuous ride as she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017. Although her domestic form has not been as good as previously, Berger continues to play at an incredibly high level, signing from Birmingham to Chelsea in 2019. Assistant manager Paul Green said that ‘She has proven herself to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world with her performances.’
Millie Bright (England)
Millie Bright is an absolute wonder defender that thrives in Emma Hayes' back three. She has become a regular starter for both club and country, helping both to win plenty of silverware. Most recently, Bright helped Chelsea win both the WSL Cup and the FA Cup. In 2021, Bright signed a contract extension with Chelsea to keep her at the club until 2023. This was welcomed by her teammates at Chelsea as Bright has developed into a key leader in this Chelsea side. In January 2022, Bright was named in the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World 11 which is selected by professional players around the world. Here’s hoping that Bright can continue her good form for England heading into the Euros.
Jess Carter (England)
Carter has only reappeared for her country in the past year, following a dry stint where she wasn’t called up. She has often swayed between a back three and full-back option for England, but her ability to chase down faster players and block attacking advances has seen her make the final 23 player squad for the Euros. Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes has praised Carter saying she has “pace, power, poise and mentality”. Carter has cemented her place in the Chelsea starting XI this season and has been a part of Chelsea’s steel wall that has only allowed two goals past them this WSL season.
Bethany England (England)
Bethany England has started 33 out of 40 games this season for Chelsea and scored 14 goals for the Blues. In the past, England has sometimes missed out on starts due to Chelsea having Sam Kerr as their first choice, however when given the opportunity, England has shown that she is a clever player, occupying the number 9 position and proved the value of squad depth. Due to her fine form this domestic season, England has earnt herself her first ever call-up to a major international tournament, being selected for Sarina Wiegman’s 2022 Euros squad. England narrowly missed out on the 2019 World Cup squad.
Fran Kirby (England)
Fran Kirby, although a doubt for the 2022 Euros has managed to secure a place in Wiegman’s squad. She has been out of action since April due to injury. Often occupying a number ten role within Chelsea’s team, Kirby scored 25 goals last season and won Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year. Kirby became Chelsea’s all-time leading goal scorer in 2020 when she scored her 70th goal for Chelsea against Benfica in the Champions League. Kirby’s ability to make clever runs and act as playmaker for both England and Chelsea, has seen her rack up both goals and assists for club and country.
Zecira Musovic (Sweden)
Zecira Musovic made her debut for Chelsea in the 2020/21 campaign and has since managed to displace Ann-Katrin Berger as first-choice goalkeeper towards the end of this season a few times. Musovic is often a favourite for Chelsea’s cup competitions and has kept 8 clean sheets from 14 starts this season in all competitions. On the international stage, Musovic received her first senior cap in 2018 against Russia and has also been called up for the 2019 Women’s World Cup and the 2021 Olympics (both in which her country won medals). Although Musovic has proved for Chelsea that she is not a bench keeper but deserving of a place in the starting XI, it is unlikely that she will get to play during the upcoming Euros as Sweden have both Jennifer Falk and Hedvig Lindahl ahead of her.
Magdalena Eriksson (Sweden)
Chelsea captain Magdalena Eriksson has had a quiet 2021/2022 season for Chelsea due to lengthy injury. Before injury, Eriksson was 1/3 of the favoured back three line for Emma Hayes and even though she has sat large parts of this season out, her experience and character was still ever-present in the dressing room. Eriksson returned to the Chelsea side in March, but her only goal of the season came against Man City in November. Eriksson made her senior debut for her country in 2014 and has since been included in all major tournaments. She has been named Swedish Defender of the Year twice and has also won the Diamond Ball (an award for the best female Swedish players).
Maren Mjelde (Norway)
Maren Mjelde is probably one of the few players who will be happy that the Women’s Euros were postponed from 2021 until this year. Due to a dreadful knee injury, Mjelde would certainly have missed the tournament had it gone ahead last summer. The defender has only played a total of 24 minutes this season for Chelsea but there was plenty of cheers when she made her long-awaited return against Servette coming on as a late substitute for Jess Carter. On the international stage, Mjelde is an integral part of the Norway team often switching between a midfield and back-line role. Mjelde made over 107 appearances for her country and helped captain the side to the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
Guro Reiten (Norway)
Guro Reiten joined Chelsea in 2019 and has had a storming 2021/22 club campaign. She is a versatile player that can occupy both an attacking and defensive style of play simultaneously and has finished with 12 WSL goal involvements to her name this season. Reiten has 35 caps and 6 goals for Chelsea, and was vital in the Continental Tyres League Cup, scoring in the quarterfinal which restored Chelsea’s 3-2 lead against Manchester City. Reiten has also played as part of the Norway international team since 2014 and was named in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Squad.
Aniek Nouwen (Netherlands)
Aniek Nouwen signed for Chelsea in 2021 and has since helped the team enormously in the absence of captain Magdalena Eriksson. With such a strong defensive bench, Nouwen had to wait her turn for some Chelsea first team action and her debut came against Leicester city which also happens to be the only team she has scored goals against for Chelsea. Nouwen made her country debut against Poland in 2019 and has since become one of the starting favourites. She scored her first goal in the Netherlands 7-0 win over Estonia which resulted in them qualifying for the 2022 Euros. Even though the Netherlands boast very strong attacking options, the defender will play a crucial role in the defensive element of Netherlands team during the upcoming tournament.
Eve Perisset (France)
Eve Perisset is a versatile defender that has represented her country at several major tournaments, racking up a total of 34 caps. The full-backs impressive form this season at Bordeaux has earnt her another call-up for the upcoming 2022 Euros. Perisset will join the Blues next season after signing for Chelsea at the end of this season – she is the first French female player to sign for Chelsea. With three consecutive quarter-final exits for France, Perisset will be hoping that she can help her country get even further this tournament.
Pernille Harder (Denmark)
Pernille Harder has had an excellent debut season at Chelsea and remains one the most expensive player in Women's Football. Harder finds herself in a very difficult Euros Group alongside the likes of Germany and Spain. However, after reaching the Euro 2017 finals and the 2013 semi-finals, she will be looking to lead Denmark to a victory this time round. Harder has played in 37 out of 40 matches this season for Chelsea, scoring 17 goals - making her third top goal scorer behind Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby.
