Liverpool goalkeeper Rylee Foster has received her first senior call-up for Canada with head coach Bev Priestman having named her initial 29-player squad for a national team training camp ahead of the 2021 SheBelieves Cup.
The 22-year-old Ontario-born stopper made her Liverpool debut in The Reds’ 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup in October and Foster has cleared made an impression upon national team boss Priestman who has been watching her performances closely.
FA Women’s Super League Full-Time had the opportunity to catch up with Priestman this evening after she announced her initial squad and she gave us her reasons behind selecting Foster for the first time at senior level.
“With Rylee, she won a lot of Golden Gloves coming through youth programmes in tournaments” said Priestman. “At youth level, she has shown that she can compete on the international stage.
“I would say that Rylee’s potential is very high and I think that her going into a professional environment (at Liverpool) is only going to help her progress that.
“I have seen elements of that against top players and that gave me the understanding that it was a great opportunity to invest in Rylee and see what she can bring to the team in and around the goalkeepers that we have got.
“She was definitely one which was selected based on the performances that I have seen.”
In the FA Women’s Championship, Foster has been left frustrated with Rachael Laws claiming the number one jersey. The youngster is yet to feature for Liverpool in the second tier, largely due to both the form and quality of teammate Laws. Foster’s national team head coach Priestman believes that it won’t be too long before the player becomes a household name in the English game.
She added “Do I believe that she could be a number one playing in the professional league here in England?
“I absolutely do and I think that we will see that in the coming months.”
The 2021 SheBelieves Cup will take place from 18-24 February with a pre-competition camp being staged in the lead up to the tournament. Canada head coach Priestman will reduce her 29-player squad to 23 players as the 2021 SheBelieves Cup edges closer.