Former Reading FC Women goalkeeper Eve Annets has been named in the England squad for the upcoming under 20 World Cup in Poland.
The 20-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, helping the Eagles gain promotion back to the WSL, and will fight for the England number one jersey alongside Stanford University’s Kaiya Jota and Chelsea’s Katie Cox.
Cox has been number one for the under 20s for three of England’s last four games, but didn’t travel for the recent 2-0 win over Portugal that saw Annets come on as a 75th minute substitute for Jota.
The FIFA Women’s under 20 World Cup in Poland remains in doubt, with UEFA holding firm in the threat to boycott FIFA competitions.
If the tournament does go ahead, England are in Group B alongside Brazil, Tanzania and Canada.
England u20 World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Eve Annets, Katie Cox, Kaiya Jota
Defenders: Ria Bose, Sacha Lewis, Rachel Maltby, Lucy Newell, Chloe Sarwie, Zara Shaw, Cecily Wellesley-Smith
Midfielders: Lola Brown, May Cruft, Chloe B.Hylton, Vera Jones, Erica Meg Parkinson
Forwards: Princess Ademiluyi, Lily Dent, Jessie Gale, Eva Hendle, Eleanor Klinger, Lauryn Thompson
The young Lionesses schedule would be as follows:
- vs Canada – Saturday 5th September (5pm)
- vs Tanzania – Tuesday 8th September (5pm)
- vs Brazil – Friday 11th September (2pm)
Annetts was a highly regarded goalkeeper at Reading and was part of the County Cup-winning Royals side in 2024 when she was also named Football in Berkshire’s young Player of the Season.
Reading’s Women’s team was ‘dumped’ by then-owner Dai Yongge that summer, dropping from the WSL2 to the Southern Region Women’s Football League. Annets however had been snapped up by Manchester City.
Following the switch to City, Annets told the clubs in house media:“[It feels] amazing. I mean a club like this, to hear they’re interested in you is just a feeling that can’t be matched. And just the aspirations I’ve got, coming to a club like this is just incredible.”
At the time of the Manchester City transfer, Football in Berkshire wrote:
Annets being snapped up by City is another kick in the gut for supporters of Reading FC Women – who despite avoiding relegation last season from the FA Women’s Championship, have been demoted to the Southern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division as the ongoing diabolical ownership of Dai Yongge continues.
The talent Reading had – and Yonnge has now squandered for the club – went far beyond historic figures like Fran Kirby and Mary Earps, deep into the academies and age group levels.
The move however is undoubtedly a huge one, and brilliant opportunity at one for the most resourced women’s football clubs in the country if not the world, and for Eve – a bit of a homecoming. She said to the City website: “My family are from Manchester. My parents [were] both born and raised here, so I’m keen to grow and learn in the city.”
