Alongside fellow Blues Ellie Roebuck and Ella Toone, the starlet, who captained the Under-17s to a bronze medal at the Euros in May, is about to embark on another adventure with John Griffiths’ side, who are readying themselves for a first ever World Cup campaign.
Unfortunately, the timing of the competition in Jordan means the trio will miss City’s crunch league clash with Chelsea and the cup final against Birmingham. While Stanway is saddened to be missing such crucial games for her club, she admitted once-in-a-lifetime opportunities cannot be turned down.
“It’s an exciting few weeks for me,” she told ManCity.com. “Obviously, I’m disappointed to be missing the Chelsea game and the Continental Tyres Cup final but on the other hand, I have a massive opportunity to play in a World Cup and they don’t come around very often.
“For me, it’s been a positive season for both club and country and I’m happy to have been able to do both.
“The club are very supportive of international players, especially as there are so many!”
England have been drawn in Group C alongside North Korea, Nigeria and Brazil, and Stanway insists the young Lionesses fear no-one.
She added: “At this stage, who knows what to expect? It’s our first World Cup and no team is easy – each one is a tough test but everyone’s willing to put in the work.
“We’ve done a lot of research recently on how they play and how we’ll play against them but it’s definitely different on the pitch than sat in a classroom learning about them. We know they’ll be technical and physical – every team brings a different characteristic so we just have to adapt.
“For us to have reached this stage and put in such hard work shows that maybe we could make an impact.
“At the end of the day, if we play our football and hopefully score some goals, we’ll stand a chance. I’m confident we can progress.”
The City trio may be far from the Academy Stadium on Sunday when City welcome champions Chelsea, seeking their first league title - but they’ll be doing all they can to keep updated.
“We’re just praying the girls get the wins they need in the remaining games,” Stanway said.
“We’ll have every TV programme running – we’ll be doing everything we can to watch those games live. If not, we’ll be all over Twitter, refreshing constantly!
“The team just need to continue putting in the hard work. We’ve put in a big shift this season. The attitude we have within the team is that we just want to win.
“If we go out there and play our game as we have done, that will speak for itself – no matter how we play on the day.”
Cheer City on to the Super League title against Chelsea on 25 September. Secure your seat in the title decider online at tickets.mancity.com.
The Blues are also in the final of the Continental Tyres Cup. Help them win the trophy for the second time. Book your place here.
