By Lewis Browning
Mail Sport’s Commissioning Editor Kate McGreavy scored the Lionesses first ever Futsal goal on Wednesday afternoon.
England were taking on Finland in a bid to reach the 2025 World Cup in the Philippines, which will be the first-ever edition of the competition in the sport.
In a game consisting of five players per side, McGreavy lined up in defence, and was responsible for the first-ever goal scored by the team, which have had no FA funding and were playing their first-ever match.
England named their 14-woman squad in September, three months after confirming that they had reached their fundraising threshold for the women’s team and that they would therefore be able to compete in the main round of qualifying for the tournament.
They lost 5-2 overall against Finland, but McGreavy made history when she netted for her side via a deflection from a kick-in.
Mail Sport’s Commissioning Editor Kate McGreavy scored the Lionesses first ever Futsal goal
McGreavy took a kick-in and saw her effort fly into the back of the net via an apparent deflection
Her team-mates swarmed to celebrate with her, with England going onto lose the game 5-2
As she prepared to take the kick-in, she seemingly attempted to cross the ball to a team-mate, who had made a late run into the box.
She saw her effort seemingly deflected and fly past the Finland goalkeeper, before her team-mates swarmed her to celebrate.
The team will take on Moldova next on Thursday, before also facing Slovenia in UEFA qualifiers for the 2025 World Cup, which will include 16 teams.
The competition, which was founded by FIFA in December 2022, will include four teams from Europe, three from Asia, two from Africa, two from North America, three from South America and one from Oceania, as well as the host nation.
There are four groups of six competing in the initial qualifying stage, with group winners going through to the next stage, where the teams will join Spain and Portugal – two sides with recent success in the European Championship – in two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the World Cup.
Sion Kitson, England Futsal Head of Development and Technical, wrote on X in October upon the announcement of the squad: ‘This is a monumental moment for everyone linked to English Futsal.
‘@EnglandFutsal are extremely proud to announce this squad. It is a testament to the player’s dedication to the sport. This group has a great blend of youth & experience & I’m excited to see them take to the court.’
England announced their first-ever Lionesses futsal squad in hunt for a spot at the World Cup back in September
McGreavy added: ‘I’m honoured to be selected to represent my country and to be part of such a talented group.
‘This is a pivotal and special moment for England Futsal after huge support, dedication and commitment behind the scenes from so many individuals – and just the start of the journey.
‘We’ve been working hard in recent months to prepare for the upcoming qualifiers and the work continues for Moldova. Let’s go.’
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Mail Sport score Futsal Lionesses’ FIRST international goal – as Kate McGreavy nets against Finland in World Cup qualifiers
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Publish date : 2024-10-16 08:45:00
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