At 16 Georgia Stanway upped sticks to pursue football. “‘Not many people leave Barrow’ – that’s what’s said,” says the forward. But that is what it took. And now, at 20, she is the youngest member of Phil Neville’s squad for the World Cup. She is no shock inclusion nor is she along for the ride. Stanway is determined to feature and will likely get game time in France.

“Everything’s happened in a short space of time and it’s been hard for me to be able to manage my emotions because it’s all just been a whirlwind,” she says. “It’s hard for me to express how I feel because I don’t think it’s real. Sometimes I’ve got to pinch myself that I’m actually here and that I’m going to compete for England at a World Cup,” she adds while absentmindedly pinching the skin on her hand.

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“I’d love to play. I think that’s definitely an aim for me. Obviously I’m still young and I’ve still got a lot of time on my hands and hopefully many more World Cups, but I’d definitely love to play.

“I’d love to make an impact in this group, whether it be a goal, whether it be coming off the bench, whether it be starting. I’d love to get the opportunity to show what I can do on the world stage.”

She already has. In 2016 Stanway captained the under-17s to a European Championship bronze and last summer she scored six at the Under-20 World Cup as England picked up another third-place finish.

Stanway exudes a confidence increasingly familiar in the new generation of young professional players. But while extremely glad for the opportunities she has been afforded thanks to the work over the years of the more senior players around her, she is keen to stress that struggle comes in all shapes and sizes.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest England’s Georgia Stanway attempts a shot at the Denmark goal past Janni Arnth Jensen and Sanne Troelsgaard during the Lionesses 2-0 victory in their friendly World Cup warm-up against Denmark at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall on 25 May 2019. Photograph: Roland Harrison/Action Plus via Getty Images

“I’ve played for Manchester City day-in day-out, whereas girls would have been training of an evening and grafting that way, and having a side job,” says Stanway. “I think I’ve timed it perfectly in the sense that I’ve come through when the league’s been fully professional.”

However, being “from a small town where there’s not a lot going on” meant her family had to shoulder a heavy load. “In order for me to achieve something I had to move out of there. But having to travel two hours each way three times a week put a lot of strain on the family and a lot of strain on us financially. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my family. They basically gave up their lives for me to pursue my dreams.

“We’ve got to understand that everybody’s got their own journey and everybody achieves it in different ways. It might look easy but mine wasn’t easy. You never know what’s behind the journey and what it takes to get there.”

Stanway was playing youth football with Blackburn Rovers in 2015 and, as England clinched bronze in Canada, she was sitting her GCSEs.

Weeks after the Lionesses arrived home, she was signed by a Manchester City side one year into their reinvention. Her stock has continued to rise, culminating in a goal and player-of-the-match performance in City’s 3-0 defeat of West Ham in the FA Cup final last month.

The day before her Wembley bow Stanway went viral, having posted a photo of herself in a Rovers jumper queuing for half an hour for a photo with her idol Steph Houghton in 2014. Five years later she was walking out behind the City and England captain.

She understands the effect that a strong England showing can have on girls’ participation in sport. “It’s going to be 10 times bigger than Canada – even the announcement got over 20 million interactions. That’s even before the games have started.

“So hopefully us doing well at the World Cup, us winning games, us showing who England are, us abiding by our values and showing the country what we’re capable of will hopefully boost the support of people back home. If we can inspire one girl, that’s enough but, if we can inspire 10,000, that’s even better.”