TWO of South Cumbria’s brightest football talents will pull on the England jersey in California tonight.

Georgia Stanway and Kelsey Pearson are part of the under-17s squad playing three international matches in the USA.

They will open their account against the hosts at 2am (GMT), with games against Japan on Saturday night and South Korea on Monday evening to follow.

Barrow’s Stanway is a stalwart of the under-17s set-up, having captained the Young Lionesses in the past, but it will be a new experience for Pearson.

The niece of Barrow AFC striker Jason Walker had her first taste of England action in Germany at the end of last year, when she featured as a substitute against France.

Pearson, who is on the books at Blackburn Rovers, where she made her first-team debut earlier this year, was delighted to be handed another call-up for the trip to Los Angeles for the Women’s NTC Invitational tournament.

“I couldn’t believe it when I got the message I had been selected,” said the two-footed left-back. “It felt really good.

“I went to Germany with them in December. That was my first time going out and that was really good.

“I get along with the lasses, especially Georgia, and it has been good to be selected again.”

She added: “I’ve never been to America. I’ve always wanted to play there and hopefully it will be a good experience.

“It will be a massive step up. Japan and the USA are the best teams in the world, so it will be a lot of hard work.”

Pearson, who has just turned 16, hopes she can impress in California and cement her place ahead of European and World Cup qualifying matches in the coming months.

The Cartmel Priory School pupil added: “I’ve not long been in the England set-up, so it was a surprise to be picked to go to California, because that means there is a higher chance to be picked for the Euros, which are coming up soon. Then there is the World Cup in Jordan as well.”

Pearson’s mum Stacey Walker said the family of the Flookburgh teenager were thrilled she had been selected for the trip.

“We’re all really proud and really ecstatic for her,” she said.

Pearson will be concentrating on her club football upon her return, where she hopes she will continue to feature for the Rovers first team, though there are ambitions to play at a higher level as well.

She was part of the Blackburn team which played a friendly against Women’s Super League side Liverpool at the start of the month, giving her a taste of what the action is like at the top of the game.

She said: “I made my debut against Nuneaton and then I played against Liverpool first team – I started and I played the full match, which was an experience. I was playing against players like Alex Greenwood.

“Next season I’m hoping I can play in a higher division, but Blackburn is very good for my development, playing with the women. I don’t mind if I stay, but if there is the opportunity to play at a higher level, I would want to take it.”