Rebecca McKenna’s move to Lewes will really help increase her potential says Northern Ireland teammate Julie Nelson.
The 20-year-old could win her 14th senior international cap for The Green and White Army when they face Luxembourg in their opening FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifier in Larne this evening.
McKenna played in both legs of Northern Ireland’s historic UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 play-off victory over the Ukraine in April and she showed great maturity despite having just a handful of senior caps to her name. Nelson played alongside McKenna in those games and she believes that the youngster could be a big player for Northern Ireland in FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying while she also thinks that her recent move to Lewes should really help bring the best out of her.
“It’s great to see Rebecca get the move across to England;” Nelson told FAWSL Full-Time. “You can see how much she has come on and she has come out of her shell more, even in this camp, from her being over in England for the last couple of months.
“Her performances in both of the play-offs were outstanding. She is a great young player and going into this qualifying campaign, I expect her to be a significant player for us.
“The experience of playing in England will increase her potential a lot more and make her an even better player.”
McKenna is one of a handful of young players to be named in Kenny Shiels’ Northern Ireland squad and Nelson went on to say that the future looks very bright for the nation.
She added “There’s massive potential now with the young players that are coming through and it’s great to have them in the squad. There is a good blend of youth and experience and hopefully, the experience of the EUROs will benefit them.
Kenny (Shiels) rotated the young players in and out through the EURO campaign and I think that he plans to do the same going into the World Cup campaign and that can only hold us in good stead for the future and for future campaigns.”
Northern Ireland’s opening FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023 qualifier against Luxembourg in Larne kicks-off at 7pm this evening and will be streamed live on BBC Sport NI.
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