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“She celebrated as if she had won the Champions League,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman with a smile.

To Lucia Kendall, the moment was just as monumental.

This comment came as Wiegman recalled the young midfielder’s joyous reaction to her maiden England goal – early in a triumph over Ghana at St Mary's Stadium.

“They are still doing some treatment on the grass!” she added, poking fun at Kendall’s flawless knee slide.

Rising to her feet amidst her celebrating colleagues, the young player showed an expression of overwhelming happiness.

A Dream Return to St Mary's

Kendall was “part of the furniture” at Southampton – a club where she had devoted ten years, rising through their academy and playing 103 games before joining Villa in July.

So when she saw the ball hit the back of the net at St Mary's Stadium on her homecoming, and on only her third England cap, it was the stuff of dreams.

“A really special moment for me to be able to do it here, where I grew up. This place forged the player I am,” Kendall said.

“It felt like it was written [in the stars]. It was so special. I got consumed by emotion really.”

‘Things Have Gone So Quickly’

While Southampton played a key role in her development, a significant choice at 15 set her on her path.

The talented youngster was also a keen cricketer – her dad Will represented Hampshire – but eventually had to pick one of the sports just as she was earning a place in Southampton's first-team squad. She chose football.

“It was an interesting one. There was no time for me to do both anymore,” Kendall explained in a recent media conference.

“I adored cricket as a child. Making the choice was very hard. I went back and forth, but when the time came, I realised I enjoy football a bit more.”

A Chelsea supporter, her idol was the prolific England midfielder Frank Lampard, and Kendall’s early career is following that goalscoring trend.

Juggling life at Southampton with a psychology degree at university, it was clear early on that Kendall had the determination and dedication to become a star.

The club did their utmost to keep her, but with her deal up, Villa seized the opportunity to introduce her to the top flight.

Her meteoric rise has seen her become a WSL regular and an England international in a very brief period.

“She shows consistency and that's not easy when you just come into a new environment and into the WSL with Aston Villa,” noted Wiegman.

“The pace of her rise has been breathtaking, yet she maintains her performance standard, proving her quality impressively.”

Her performance was notable; she came close to scoring again and was instrumental in another chance, preceding Russo’s spot-kick.

She came off after an hour to a ovation from the home crowd and the enthusiastic voice of the stadium announcer boasting that she was “Southampton's very own”.

Kendall scored 29 goals for the club in more than a decade of service and added: “Being at Southampton for so long, I played regular senior football from the age of 16 and that was incredibly beneficial.

“Their unwavering belief in my abilities made me feel prepared for the challenge ahead.

“I understood the need to justify my selection at international level, where the tempo is higher, akin to moving up a league.”

Acknowledgment of Her Football Intelligence

Her seamless transition to the international stage has led to praise for her innate midfield qualities and natural demeanour.

Wiegman is keen to protect her, saying the media can play a role in that and so can Villa, but she has no concerns because of how “down-to-earth” Kendall conducts herself.

In her early interactions with the press, she emphasized her willingness to fulfill any role for the benefit of the team.

Teammate Alessia Russo observed that Kendall settled as if she’d always been there.

“{This team's just gone on to win back-to