‘A shock’: Laura Coombs poised for third England cap after eight-year wait

The Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs has said her England call-up, eight years after she got her second of two caps, was a “shock”. “As far as I was aware, I’d never even been on standby before this camp,” said the 32-year-old from St George’s Park on Tuesday.

“I was surprised. It’s been so long. I didn’t think about the international stage any more. I was thinking I was going to get a break but I am really happy to be here. It was a shock but now I’m here, I’m ready to get to work.”

Coombs made her international debut in October 2015 under Mark Sampson, playing a couple of minutes in two games in the China Cup. In 2020 she was called up to Phil Neville’s final training camp of the year but did not play. She is oldest member of Sarina Wiegman’s 26-player squad for the Arnold Clark Cup, with South Korea up first on Thursday night in Milton Keynes, five months out from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

When Coombs received a call from Wiegman she ignored it, with the number unrecognised. “She called earlier on my way in [to City’s training ground] and I didn’t have the number,” Coombs said. “I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t know.” When she did take the call, she was in an ice bath with her teammate Khadija Shaw. “She’s been teasing saying: ‘I said you should’ve been in the international squad.’ She was like: ‘I told you.’”

Coombs’ first impressions of Wiegman have been good. “We’ve had a couple of meetings, she seems really approachable as a manager,” she said. “That’s what you want: someone you can go and feel comfortable speaking to. We’ve only had one training session so far, so I’m excited to see what she’s like going forward.

“She’s told me the type of player she sees me as. I’ve got a good