✨ Check out this insightful post from BBC Sport 📖
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💡 Here’s what you’ll learn:
Erica Meg Parkinson’s international football career could go in four directions.
The 17-year-old was born in Singapore to an English father and Japanese mother, and currently plays for Portuguese club Valladares Gaia.
As a result, Parkinson was eligible to play for Japan, Singapore and her current home country Portugal, but spent her career with England.
She has no intention of changing her allegiances, but Parkinson fully embraces her multicultural upbringing and speaks four languages.
“I grew up in Singapore, and that really helped me have a multicultural background when I went to an international school,” Parkinson said.
“I was surrounded by a lot of different people. I knew how to deal with that and appreciated that.
“A lot of people around me can speak two or three languages, but everyone here at the camp only speaks English!
“When we played Portugal in the summer, I was able to translate the set-piece routine to the rest of the team which was good.”
The talented youngster was called up to the England Under-23s for the first time this month after previously playing for the Under-16s, Under-17s and Under-19s, earning 44 youth caps in total.
England Under-23s play Norway at the Joy Stadium in Manchester on Thursday (19:00 GMT), before hosting the United States at the WAM Stadium in Accrington on Monday (19:00).
When asked why Parkinson was chosen to represent England, she said: “England was the first country to invite me to the national training centre.
“They sent a scout to Portugal to watch my matches. I was playing with the boys at that stage. They saw some clips of me online and realized I was half English.
“Once I got here, I really liked the culture. Everyone is kind but also ambitious. I enjoyed the way England conducted themselves in training sessions and the way they played in matches.”
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