Erica Meg Parkinson was an unknown quantity when England manager Sarina Wiegman unexpectedly named her in the senior squad in March.

The teenager was playing in Portugal and had only made the jump up to England’s Under-23s a few months earlier.

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People are now starting to take notice as the midfielder secured a move to the United States this summer, joining North Carolina Courage on a three-year deal.

Wiegman was in the stands watching on Saturday as the 17-year-old made her debut, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 3-0 loss to Bay FC and performing well.

But behind the raw talent is an ambitious footballer who has planned out her route to the top by training her mind in order to stand out from the rest.

BBC Sport explores how she is developing off the pitch as well as on it.

The Lionesses list & pre-season goals

Parkinson was born in Singapore to an English father and a Japanese mother and is eligible to represent both nations, as well as Portugal, where she spent most of her playing career.

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She was with Leixoes from the age of 10 and had some involvement with Benfica before breaking into Valadares Gaia’s first team in the 2023-24 season.

Since the age of 12, Parkinson has been working with a mindset coach, developing skills to handle pressure and expectation off the pitch, and to improve her leadership, decision-making, and awareness on it.

She connected with Martin Fairn, founder of Gazing Performance, who has worked with a number of elite athletes including the New Zealand men’s rugby team and former England cricketer Ashley Giles.

Fairn was approached by Parkinson’s father, Richard, and quickly began working with Erica and her brother Dennis.

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“I knew straight away that Erica had a determination not everybody has,” Fairn told BBC Sport.

“I said to Erica: ‘What do you want to do?’ And she said: ‘I’d like to play football for England.’ That was how it all kicked off.

“It’s relatively rare someone that young seeks out mindset training. Do they need it? There won’t be one person who couldn’t benefit from it.

“In football particularly, it’s viewed as a problem that needs fixing rather than a skill that needs developing.”

Parkinson and Fairn have worked together for over five years, catching up in person at the end of each season and holding regular meetings over Zoom.

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In a pre-season session before the 2025-26 campaign – which BBC Sport has seen summary notes of – Parkinson focused on raised expectations and on developing more clarity of her role on the pitch.

On her flight to her first senior Lionesses camp in March, Parkinson wrote a list of the pressures and emotions she could feel – a common process with Fairn.

They reflected on how she might react to the challenges, what her ambitions were during those moments, and how she could prepare.

The list included:

• The honour of being called up

• Anticipation of walking into a camp with star-studded names

• Increased intensity of training

• Media attention and increased scrutiny

‘She looks like she belongs’

One of the biggest discussions Fairn and Parkinson had was about the work she had done to get herself into a position to earn an England call-up.

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Parkinson can speak four languages, has trained with boys in Portugal, and cemented her place in the senior women’s team at Valadares as a 15-year-old.

She has almost 50 caps for England’s youth teams and will be taking another step up now she has joined North Carolina Courage.

But there is still a way to go if Parkinson wants to become a regular in Wiegman’s squad – so how can Fairn help her prepare for that?

“The pathway to the top is notoriously challenging. The acceptance Erica had of that reality was one of the first breakthroughs,” said Fairn.

“She’s really clear about the people around her, and she comes to each session with a list of things she’s going to work on.

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“Her own expectations are the biggest source of pressure. Naturally, that’s her strength – she wants to get better – but it can be a vulnerability if it just sits in your head.

“She’s built confidence to feel comfortable performing at the level she’s at. Some people feel they have to be perfect but you need to realize you won’t be.”

Fairn says Parkinson excels at “zooming out,” which allows her to recognize her progress, where she needs to develop, and the impact of any mistakes she makes.

It is clear that despite her young age, Parkinson has matured rapidly, and Fairn believes she has not only the talent but the mental tools for continued success.

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“Her determination is clear when you meet her. She’s prepared to work as hard as she needs to achieve her dreams,” he added.

“It’s a real privilege to be involved in part of that story. When you watch her play – and at every level I’ve watched her – she looks like she belongs.

“I suspect she will feel, already where she is with the Lionesses, is where she’s meant to be.”

Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women’s Super League and beyond on the Women’s Football Weekly feed

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