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England make surprise call up with teenager, 17, who plays in Portugal included in squad

England have made a shock call-up to the national team ahead a couple of international friendlies - with a 17-year-old who plays in Portugal in the squad

[The Carabo Cup]

There has been a surprising call up to the England squad(Image: Getty Images)

England have made a surprise call-up after naming their squad for the upcoming international friendlies.

Sarina Wiegman's side are set to welcome Spain to Wembley, in a replay of the 2023 Women's World Cup final, before travelling to Reykjavik to clash with Iceland. And the squad has seen the surprising addition of midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson.

Parkinson, 17, plays for Portuguese first division side Valadares Gaia, and despite her young age has already racked up 48 appearances for the Portuguese side. Born in Singapore to a Japanese mother, she qualifies for the Lionesses through her father.

[Erica Meg Parkinson]

Erica Meg Parkinson plays her football in Portugal(Image: The FA via Getty Images)

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However, the family moved to Portugal when she was 10 - partly because her brother, Denis, had secured a move to Portos academy. He now plays for the Portuguese top-tier side Famalico.

Parkinson has chosen to represent England, telling the BBC in November: England were the first country that invited me into the national training centre.

"They sent a scout out to Portugal to see my games. I was playing with boys at that point. They saw some clips of me online and realised I was half-English.

Speaking ahead of the international break, Wiegman said: "Last month we started our campaign strongly with two good performances against Ukraine and Iceland, and we want to continue that momentum.

"These upcoming matches against Spain and Iceland are important steps in our qualification journey, and were fully focused on performing at our highest level.

This international window is very special for our team.

"Marking the 500th game in the Lionesses history is something we are all incredibly proud of, and it connects us to every player who has helped build this team over so many years.

Facing Spain at Wembley in front of our fans will be a fantastic challenge, and travelling to Iceland for such a historic occasion will motivate us even more to be at our best too.

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