Erica Meg Parkinson, a 17-year-old England midfielder, has been working with a mindset coach since the age of 12 to help her cope with pressure and expectation as she rises through the ranks of women's football. The teenager was a surprise call-up to Sarina Wiegman's senior England squad in March, having only recently progressed to the Under-23s, and this summer she completed a move from Portuguese club Valadares Gaia to North Carolina Courage in the United States on a three-year deal. Her use of a mindset coach so early in her career is unusual in football, where such support is often seen as fixing a problem rather than developing a skill.

Parkinson, who was born in Singapore to an English father and Japanese mother and speaks four languages, has worked with coach Martin Fairn of Gazing Performance for more than five years, after her father sought him out. Fairn, who has also worked with the New Zealand men's rugby team and former England cricketer Ashley Giles, holds regular sessions with Parkinson, including one before her first senior England camp in which she listed the pressures she expected to face, from the honour of selection to increased media scrutiny. Wiegman watched from the stands as Parkinson made her North Carolina Courage debut on Saturday, coming on at half-time in a 3-0 defeat by Bay FC.