Lionesses star Esme Morgan is missing university deadlines to play at World Cup

England midfielder Georgia Stanway reflects on England's 1-0 win over Haiti

England defender Esme Morgan has revealed that she is considering whether to ask her university to extend her deadlines, which she is likely to miss as a result of her Women’s World Cup commitments. The 22-year-old made her international debut last year after excelling at club level for Manchester City and travelled to the World Cup after being named in Sarina Wiegman’s squad as a welcome reward for her efforts.

Morgan was an unused substitute in England’s win over Haiti on Saturday, with Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty ensuring a winning start to the tournament for the Lionesses. Her most recent appearance came in the final warm-up match against Portugal as she helped to keep a clean sheet in a goalless draw before jetting out to Australia with the rest of the squad.

The City defender is currently juggling her international commitments with the trials and tribulations of student life at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she is studying for a degree in sport and exercise science. Morgan is wary that her football could prevent her from submitting her coursework on time, though, as she told BBC Sport: “I’ve got deadlines coming that I’m not going to make, so I might have to ask for extensions.”

Morgan did not feature for England at last summer’s Euros after her hopes of making the squad were ruined by a broken leg, although she has since returned to full fitness and is expected to be a useful squad player at the World Cup. She will be hoping to make her debut tournament appearance against Denmark on Friday as the Lionesses strive to maintain their winning start in Group D.

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“On the down days when you are injured and you feel like you’ve had setbacks, there were parts of me that thought am I ever going to be the same player,” added Morgan. “But when I came back and I realised that I actually felt better than I’d ever felt before, the World Cup was definitely a target I had in mind. I’m just so happy.”

Morgan previously spoke about how she struggled to find other girls to play football with during her time growing up in Sheffield, which led to her joining a local boys team. She credited the experience with helping to develop her physical attributes, with her opponents rarely shying away from making big tackles.

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“I played with my local boys’ team until I turned 15,” she told Olympic Channel. “Playing with the boys toughens you up because if they can stick a tough tackle on you, they will. I don’t think they ever like being shown up by a girl.

“I think it probably teaches you a lot about the mental side of the game, like speed of thought and reading the game, because when you reach a certain age, you can’t compete with the boys physically, but I really like the physical aspect of a game. I think when you can get into a good battle with your direct opponent, it’s always fun to see who can come out on top.”

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