Beth Mead urges England to feed off the pressure of European title defence
Beth Mead has challenged England to use pressure as fuel when they kick off their European title defence against France.
The Lionesses squad travelling to Switzerland this summer is very different from the one that lifted the trophy on home soil at Euro 2022.
Seven members of Sarina Wiegman's group have never played in a major tournament and England will be defending a major title for the first time.
'There's a little bit of pressure that comes with it but I think it's a free adrenaline injection, pump it into your veins,' said forward Mead, who won the Golden Boot after scoring six goals at the 2022 Euros, where she was also named player of the tournament.
'We've been there, we've done it, we need to bottle that energy up and (bring) what we brought last time. It's a completely different tournament and teams look very different but we know what we're about and we've got to concentrate on being the best version of ourselves.'
England face Jamaica in a Leicester send-off on June 29 before travelling to their Switzerland base in Zurich. They kick off their title defence against France on July 5, then take on 2017 champions the Netherlands.
The group stage concludes in St Gallen against Wales, who have qualified for the first major tournament in their history.
Mead is relieved team-building activities this time around have not included a camping trip – a memorable Lionesses excursion under Phil Neville in 2019.
'I think I slept two hours and then (got woken up) by the geese around the complex,' Mead recalls. 'That wasn't my favourite team-building activity. I think Toni Duggan snuck back into the hotel for the night instead.'
The group did host a movie night at their last camp – the thriller Sinners, starring Bournemouth minority owner Michael B Jordan – and this time opted for a graffiti painting session to, Mead notes, 'express yourself' and 'show how bad we all are at art'.
Much has also changed in Mead's personal and professional life since lifting the trophy in 2022 – her mother, June, died from ovarian cancer the following winter, shortly after Mead was named Sports Personality of the Year.
This year, she lifted the Champions League trophy alongside her Arsenal team-mates for the first time.
'I feel like I'm in a good place individually,' Mead added.
'I know I've got an amazing team around me. I've got very good connections with players in the team.
'All I can do is do my best. We can all only do our best and take our chances when we're given them.
'I'd like to think I've got quite a good amount of experience to head into the tournament and I've played against a lot of the teams that we're going to come up against and hopefully that experience can help within the game.
'But I'm excited. I'm a little bit older than I was last time, but it doesn't take the excitement away and it still feels like a first tournament even though I've obviously been very lucky to go to quite a few.
'This is a new challenge, new competition, very different teams. I can't wait to get started.'
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