'I know a lot of the players' - Super Falcons CB Plumptre excited to face country of birth England

Former Leicester City centre-back Ashleigh Plumptre says she is excited to face England in Monday morning's 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup round of 16 showdown at Lang Park in Brisbane, and also revealed that she knows a lot of players in the Lionesses squad. 

Plumptre is a native of Leicester and earned caps for the Young Lionesses at U15, U17, U19 and U23 levels before switching her allegiance to Nigeria, where her paternal grandfather originally hails from. 

The Super Falcons number 2 was teammates with Lionesses trio Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway in the England U17 setup. 

And she played alongside Mary Earps, Millie Bright and Bethany England at U23 level

Plumptre certainly has an idea of England's playing style and is looking forward to facing some of her former teammates. 

Speaking to Nigerian reporters, Plumptre said: "I always thought that it was going to be the case, the fact that it was a possibility to play England. I always knew that it would kind of fall that way for us.

"I'm just, honestly, so excited to play them. I obviously know a lot of the players, I grew up playing with a lot of them as well so I know them, more than just teammates but as friends as well.

"Obviously it was like a different point in my life when I was playing for them so it's nice two different parts of my life coming together to be able to play this game so I'm really looking forward to it".
 

With the exception of the 3-2 win against Australia, Plumptre has gone the distance in all the matches played by the Super Falcons in the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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