If she is ready, Steph Houghton deserves her place in England’s Euro 2022 squad

When the news broke that Steph Houghton had been included in the provisional 28-player England squad for the Euros, social media went into overdrive.

Defenders and detractors were out in force, with the latter greater in number. The former England captain has not played since January, when she competed five times before reaggravating the achilles injury that had kept her out since September’s international break.

In the meantime, Chelsea’s Millie Bright and Houghton’s Manchester City teammate Alex Greenwood have arguably cemented their status as England’s first-choice centre-back partnership and the defensive issues that blighted Phil Neville’s tenure are less prominent. The Arsenal defender Leah Williamson has been handed the armband. In addition, a host of young defenders have staked a claim for a Euros spot.

Where, then, does Houghton fit and should she make the cut when the squad is trimmed on Wednesday to the 23 who will sit in the home dressing room ready to face a sold-out Old Trafford crowd to open the Euros against Austria on 6 July?

Yes is perhaps the left-field answer from a writer who has repeatedly said there should be no room for sentimentality and has advocated for the phasing out of the older guard of England internationals after an incredible innings, but it is the right one.

There is of course a caveat. Whether Houghton is match-ready is a question that will be answered in training, in front of the coaches who must decide whether she warrants a place. At St George’s Park on Tuesday, Houghton showed no signs of being off the pace.

“I feel as if I’m holding my own in training,” she said, chatting pitchside with journalists who had assembled to watch. “There’s a lot of players being managed, in terms of a