Poppy Pattinson and England: 25 Years in the Making

“Where’s this mic going, does that look fine?

“Are you sure? Are you definitely sure?” she laughs.

Poppy Pattinson is half-laughing, half-checking, making sure everything’s in the right place before we start. She glances at the camera, then back again.

“Am I looking at you or the camera?”

It’s a small moment, but it says a lot. There’s no big entrance, no rehearsed speeches.

Just Poppy, before her England call-up interview.

She smiles and starts to explain her story.

“We got two days off earlier this week, and on Monday night I was flying to Lisbon to visit my boyfriend, he plays his football over there.

“I landed and had a missed call and a message from Sarina, saying, ‘This is Sarina, please call me back when you’re free.’”

She missed the original call – 30,000 feet in the air – and only saw it when she stepped off the plane.

“As soon as I stepped foot in the airport, I called her back and she gave me the news.”

A pause. A smile.

“She congratulated me and invited me into the camp, it was an amazing feeling.”

There’s something fitting about that moment happening in transit, somewhere between places. Because that’s what this call-up represents for Poppy Pattinson. Not the start of something brand new, but the continuation of a journey that’s been quietly building for years.

The first people she called were exactly who you’d expect.

“My mum. My mum and dad. I gave them a call straight away, they were so, so proud.”

You can almost hear it.

“You can imagine the Geordie accents just shouting!”

It makes her laugh, but there’s weight behind it too.

“My family have seen the journey from the start, they’ve put in all of the work for me to travel around the country from when I was a little girl. To get to this moment, it’s all paid off.”

There’s a photo somewhere, she says, of her as a child. Tiny, hopeful, and declaring that her dream was to play for England.

“It’s never changed. I think it’s one of the biggest achievements in football, everyone dreams of it and to finally live it is a dream come true.”

The same dream carried for 25 years.

If you ask her what she’d tell that younger version of herself, she doesn’t hesitate.

“Never give up.”

It’s not a slogan, it’s a lived experience.

“It’s been a journey full of emotions for 25 years. Things are going to be up and down, life’s a rollercoaster and it’s never smooth, but in the end it’s worth every fight for.

“It’s a sweet moment when you know you’ve worked hard for it.”

“The gap between the England youth levels and now was tough mentally as well. It goes further away, and comes closer, there are moments where you think it’s closer than others, and I’ve definitely had a lot of them.”

Years of WSL football, consistent performances, and the quiet question in the background: will it happen?

“Friends and family have seen what I’ve felt through them moments. To get it now, it puts all of that to the side and I just want to keep pushing from here. It’s the first time, and I don’t want it to be the last either.”

This season in particular hasn’t been straightforward.

“At the start of the season it wasn’t the easiest for me. I’ve never really had an injury or setback for the past years in my career, so that was tough.”

For someone used to consistency, being sidelined was new territory.

“To go from the start of the season like I did, come back after Christmas and kick on in the last five games and to get this now has made all of the hard work in the gym, all of those hours of rehab really worth it.”

That’s the part that often goes unseen. The gym sessions, the rehab, the quiet determination to get back to where you were, and then beyond it.

It’s moments like that which ground Poppy, and she’s not getting ahead of herself.

“No, one step at a time,” she says, smiling when asked about future England call-ups and the upcoming World Cup in 2027.

 “I want to go there, enjoy it, show what I can do and be in that environment with all of the girls in that team. Everyone wants to be in that environment.”

It’s measured. Grounded. Exactly how you’d expect her to approach it.

The interview wraps up and off camera, the smile returns, a bit wider this time.

“It’s crazy, I’m so, so happy. My family are going to Turkey! The weather will be fine I think!”

“It’s nice to have Freya too, she’s flying at the moment, left foot right foot!”

Those interactions tell you everything you need to know about Poppy.

A childhood photo.

Years of almosts.

An airport phone call.

And now, finally, England.

Poppy Pattinson and England, 25 years in the making.

All of us at London City Lionesses are so proud of you, Poppy.

Go and smash it for England.