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Lucia Kendall was watching TV, probably a drama, and missed Sarina Wiegman’s call. She wasn’t expecting it. Certainly not this soon. The 21-year-old joined Aston Villa from the WSL 2 club Southampton in the summer but her start in the top division has been so impressive that it has yielded a first senior England call-up for the friendlies against Brazil and Australia.
“It’s surreal really,” Kendall says at the team’s St George’s Park training base. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in. I’m just here to learn as much as possible. This team’s just gone and won back-to-back Euros so to be able to be in their environment is something I really didn’t think I’d get to do so soon.”
The faith shown in her by Villa’s manager, Natalia Arroyo, is paying off. “She’s very passionate about the game,” says Kendall. “I’m starting to see how she wants to play, to come out a bit more, but I’m just really grateful for the level of trust that she’s shown in me. I’m a young player in the team. The first start, against Arsenal at the Emirates, not every manager would throw you in the deep end like that but I was really grateful for that opportunity to be able to show what I can do. I feel that trust from her.”
The foundations were laid by Southampton, whom she joined from Winchester City Flyers, progressing through the academy and into the senior side by 16, and her time in the England pathway. “Being at Southampton for so long – I’ve played regular senior football from when I was 16 – has stood me in really good stead and the consistent trust that they showed in me as a player was important. I felt like I was ready for the next step up [to the WSL] and I knew that I had to go in and prove why I should be playing at this level. The speed of the game is quicker going up a division but I do think that playing those regular minutes in the WSL 2 put me in a good place.
“The [England] Under-23s has definitely prepared me well for this environment too. They try and mirror as much as they can from the senior team. I’ve been around the team long enough to see a lot of things, but I’d definitely say the difference is in the detail and everything’s about wanting to win. There’s no fluff around it; if we can win like this, that’s how we’re going to do it.”
The goal is to soak up the experience. “I definitely want to show what I’m about and what I can do,” she says, also thinking ahead to games against China in November and Ghana in December. “We’ve got four friendlies, so really exciting games.”
Kendall can play in midfield as a No 10, No 6 or No 8. “I wouldn’t pigeonhole myself to a position,” she says. “I played in the 10 at Southampton, and I’ve been playing as more of a defensive midfielder at Villa. I would like to say that I can play any of those three roles, probably more naturally a little bit more defensive, but I want to be able to play all three positions in that midfield.”
Kendall says that away from the pitch she can “take a while to come out of my shell” and that when she does she is “probably a bit of an idiot”. Far from it: she plays the piano and is studying for a degree in psychology. Football wasn’t her only sport, either. She played cricket for Hampshire and was selected for the England women’s academy in the 2019–20 season.
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“I probably chose football when I was about 15 or 16,” she says. “When I had to transition into Southampton Women there was no time for me to do both any more. I loved playing cricket growing up and it was a really difficult decision. I went back and forth on it and my parents were like: ‘You just keep going with both.’ They really supported me. I was really grateful for that. Eventually when the time came I was like: ‘You know what? I enjoy football a bit more I think.’”
Having other interests is important to Kendall. “I like to keep football to football, not let it take over my whole life,” she says. “That’s quite an easy thing to have happen. Piano, uni, cooking, spending time with my friends and family … I just enjoy a peaceful and quiet life.”
