{"id":153876,"date":"2024-02-20T17:33:26","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T17:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/02\/20\/wales-call-up-my-biggest-footballing-achievement-so-far\/"},"modified":"2024-02-20T17:33:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T17:33:26","slug":"wales-call-up-my-biggest-footballing-achievement-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/02\/20\/wales-call-up-my-biggest-footballing-achievement-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales call-up my biggest footballing achievement so far \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Lois Joel is absolutely buzzing after being named in Wales\u2019 senior squad for the first time.<\/p>\n

The London City Lionesses skipper, 24, is part of an exciting crop of players chosen by interim boss Jon Grey ahead of a friendly against the Republic of Ireland on February 27.<\/p>\n

And full-back turned midfielder Joel says her international call-up is the biggest moment of her young career.<\/p>\n

She told LiveScore: \u201cWhen the assistant called me before the official announcement, it was such a great feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my greatest achievement in the sport so far. International football is such an honour to be a part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully the next achievements will be playing for Wales and helping them get to a first major tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Easy decision<\/h2>\n

Joel represented England at youth level but opted to switch allegiance to Wales \u2014 a decision she claims was easy after working with former manager Gemma Grainger.<\/p>\n

She explained: \u201cIt was always in the back of my mind. I had quite a close relationship with Gemma.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

\u201cSo I talked to her and some of the other girls, as well as going to a training camp, and that really sold it for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environment was just such a good place to be and made it quite an easy decision in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited to work with Jon. We had a good one-to-one session at a training camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd from what I\u2019ve already seen, strong foundations were laid by Gemma. Hopefully we can continue and finish what she started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Euro 2025<\/h2>\n

Wales just missed out on a spot at the 2023 World Cup as they lost their play-off final tie against Switzerland in agonising fashion.<\/p>\n

FC Zurich forward Fabienne Humm scored in the second half of extra-time to seal a 2-1 victory in October 2022.<\/p>\n

But while the Welsh failed to qualify, their improvement as a side has been clear for all to see \u2014 and a spot at Euro 2025 is now a realistic aim.<\/p>\n

Joel said: \u201cQualifying for the Euros is the main goal. I think we definitely have the talent but it\u2019s about getting the job done.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously they lost in such a heart-breaking manner last time, so I\u2019m sure a lot of the girls are desperate to right those wrongs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut having the experience of playing in such big play-off games will help the team moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

While new to the international scene, Joel knows her role as captain of Championship side London City \u2014 a position she was appointed to last August \u2014 will make it an easier introduction to the Wales camp.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIt\u2019s been challenging being captain at times. We\u2019ve got a team full of really big personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they captain me but I\u2019ve learned so much off them and grown as both a leader and a player.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully that will help me coming into this new environment, because I have more confidence than I did before.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Joel debuts in Ireland next Tuesday, she will also come up against some of her London City colleagues.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThere\u2019s already been a bit of banter. They\u2019ve said how it\u2019s always a close and exciting game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s no such thing as a friendly in international football, is there? I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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And full-back turned midfielder Joel says her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWales call-up my biggest footballing achievement so far \u2013 - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/02\/20\/wales-call-up-my-biggest-footballing-achievement-so-far\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wales call-up my biggest footballing achievement so far \u2013 - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lois Joel is absolutely buzzing after being named in Wales\u2019 senior squad for the first time. 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