 For the first time since 1966, England have reached a World Cup Final – and it's not by chance. Each and every player has worked hard to get this far, from the match starters to those eagerly awaiting their time on the bench, like 27-year-old midfielder Katie Zelem. It was Katie's childhood dream to play for Manchester United – the team she watched growing up. In May, she captained them all the way to Wembley, making the FA cup final for the first time in the team's history. She made her England debut in the now-famous World Cup qualifying match against Latvia, which saw the Lionesses secure a record-breaking victory, 20 goals to nil. On Sunday, she'll step out on the field for the biggest day of her career. Ahead of the tournament, Katie spoke to Metro.co.uk about what it takes to train like a Lioness, up to six days a week. Katie sometimes runs up to 40k a week because of her matches and training (Picture: Charlotte Tattersall/Manchester United/Getty) Preparation 'I play centre midfield so it's usually a lot of running,' Katie says. 'Sometimes in games, we're running 10 or 11k – and that's without the warm-up, so it's like 14k just on one day. And preparing for game day is no easy feat. 'We go into the gym before and after every two-hour training session,' Katie says. 'Then, we'll do a warm up, boxes and possession on the pitch, which is all about keeping the ball. 'We'll always have a different end goal depending on who we are playing that weekend, so the training will be tailored to that.' Each player's gym regime is tailored to their specific needs for the position they play, while being mindful of any areas that need improvement, or injuries that have been sustained. 'Some of my exercises are Spanish squats, which are hard!' says Katie. 'You put a band around the back of your knees, and you have to squat down as low as you can for 30 seconds. 'After training twice a week we'll do a weight session){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
For the first time since 1966, England have reached a World Cup Final – and it’s not by chance.
Each and every player has worked hard to get this far, from the match starters to those eagerly awaiting their time on the bench, like 27-year-old midfielder Katie Zelem.
It was Katie’s childhood dream to play for Manchester United – the team she watched growing up. In May, she captained them all the way to Wembley, making the FA cup final for the first time in the team’s history.
She made her England debut in the now-famous World Cup qualifying match against Latvia, which saw the Lionesses secure a record-breaking victory, 20 goals to nil.