Liverpool Ladies defender Gemma Bonner could achieve a dream when the England women's team begin their European Championship against Spain later this week.

Bonner, along with club colleagues Lucy Bronze and Fara Williams, is currently based in the Swedish city of Linköping, where Hope Powell's team will play each of their three Group C fixtures.

The Ladies No.5 will celebrate her 22nd birthday the day after England's opening match and is hoping for an early present in the form of an international debut.

"As a player, you always want to play at the top level. At the beginning of the season I wanted to concentrate on having a good season for Liverpool," she explained to FA TV.

"I knew that if I was playing well week in, week out I would be in with a shout. I was happy that I've done that, I'm happy to be here now and obviously I want to push on and keep my place.

"It would be an achievement that I would be massively proud of. You dream of making your international debut - to be able to do it in a major competition would be even better.

"Hopefully if I got the chance, I would be able to make the most of it off the back of all the hard work that I've put in.

"I'm really proud to be here, named among some big-name players and they've got a lot of experience. There are quite a lot of them who have got over 100 caps. So to be in the same squad as them is a massive privilege and one that I'll learn from."

Bonner was a member of the England women's squad which captured the U19 trophy in 2009 and she believes the crop of players who have since graduated to the senior team can provide a boost.

She continued: "Playing at a younger age group and getting experience at major tournaments always helps.

"We won it that year then came close again the year after, so hopefully the younger players can bring the experience of winning the tournament - we know what it feels like. Hopefully we'll bring something into the senior set-up."

Powell's side have experienced a mixed bag in their preparation matches for the tournament, drawing 1-1 with world champions Japan before suffering a 4-1 defeat by Sweden.

"Playing in those games, you want to be playing against top-quality opposition coming into a tournament. We'll have learnt a lot from playing in those games, albeit we didn't win one," Bonner reflected.

"Maybe sometimes you can learn more from the defeat against Sweden; we've reviewed the game and hopefully we'll take what we can from that game, progress into the tournament and keep improving."

Two late goals from Egypt knock England out of the U20 World Cup in the final match of group play, following in the footsteps of the U21s' failures at the Euros earlier in the month.

Another international tournament another disappointing display from England, this time as the U20s crash out of the World Cup at the end of group play after a loss to Egypt. In need of a win after Uruguay's victory earlier in the day, England couldn't find the goals they needed, and were ultimately undone by a moment of brilliance from Trezeget and a soft defense unable to recover after pushing so many men forward.

Conor Coady played all ninety minutes and again captained England, while Jon Flanagan was left on the bench to watch the second English exit in the group stages during the month of June. Coady was burned badly by Trezeget for the winner, but minutes later delivered an inch-perfect cross to Harry Kane, whose headed effort was saved well by Awad Mossad before he pushed the rebound wide.

Just like that--after tomorrow's Confederations Cup matches--nearly all of Liverpool's internationals are done with meaningful competition for the month, with the transfer window set to open and preseason preparations ready to begin. We'll have Suso to follow as the knockout stages of the World Cup begin, but we're not too far away from all Liverpool, all the time. And that's a very good thing.

Not unlike this bit of sweetness from Trezeget, who skins Conor Coady en route to Egypt's winner:

PERHAPS the biggest challenge for a club that is trying to reach the top is to find the balance between developing its own players and satisfy the demands from the fans and their hunger for instant success. This is particularly true for clubs in the Barclays Premier League.

Since the restructuring of the English top division and the vastly improved club economy, the league has become a money-driven rat race where the clubs have no other choice than jumping on the money train in order to compete.

Whether it’s about challenging for the title or simply staying in the league, relatively significant financial muscles are needed.

All of this is old news of course. One of the reasons why Liverpool FC are where they are right now is because the club never took advantage of the opportunities that came along when things took off in the 90s. They had a good and young generation of players who were the core of a highly promising team, but the club failed to capitalise on the commercial side and in the end never were able to build the strong foundation that was really needed to take LFC into the new millennium. Also old news.

Liverpool is said to be a good place for young players to be at the moment, and also has a manager who is not afraid to use them. For a while though, the club didn’t seem to put much emphasis on promoting players from the academy. The best ones like Carragher, Owen and Gerrard made it through and established themselves anyway, but perhaps more because of their special talent or by the virtue of their strong character than anything else. Special players always rise to the top, irrespective of circumstances.

What happened during the Houllier years was that the promotion of academy talent seemingly became neglected in favour of building a strong first team. Something obviously had to give; it was either that or the other way around, taking the longer term approach and focus on giving more youngsters the chance to grow into a first team role.

Looking at the players Liverpool are being heavily linked to and the players Rodgers have bought so far we can see the pattern: the club is buying young players who are meant to both contribute here and now, but also to develop into better players given time. There will be no quick fix to take the club back to the top straight away; Liverpool FC are working within a budget that is relatively limited compared to the top teams – both in terms of wages and in terms of money available for transfers – and this is the direction the club seem to have settled on for now.

The question I’m asking though is this: Is this direction to be considered as a path of development or is it a compromise?

With the possible signings of Luis Alberto from Sevilla, Tiago Ilori from Sporting and Christian Atsu from Porto in mind, can it be argued that these are signings that could end up blocking some the club’s youngsters’ way into the first team, and that the club thereby strays away from its direction; or is this players that are needed to make the first team stronger as well as – given their young age – obviously being players who fit the development profile?

The way I see it, the club is indeed settling for some kind of compromise. The history of Liverpool Football Club brings a certain burden with it, albeit the good kind of burden. What was once great can become great again, and this history means that nobody in charge of running the club will ever be allowed to settle with mediocrity. No matter the circumstances there will always be huge expectations around having a competitive first team, but simultaneously there’s also the expectation of introducing some of the promising youngsters to the first team – which is perfectly natural given the group of players the club has at U21 and U18 level.

But are Liverpool FC in a position to play these youngsters? Can we as fans realistically expect to see another Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom being introduced every season while also expect the team to get back into the Champions League and challenge for trophies, or are we not yet in a position to combine the two?

I don’t think we can expect it; not while in the position the club currently finds itself in. LFC don’t have the ‘luxury’ of developing slowly and peacefully right now; nor is the club’s first team competitive enough to carry one or two youngsters while upholding expectations.

Which is why I think some of our talented youngsters – players we ideally would like to see as members of the first team squad – will have to wait a couple of years before getting the chance to establish themselves in the team.

Coady and the Under-17s beat Spain in the final three years ago, and the impressive defensive midfielder would much rather spend his summers ­testing himself against the world’s best than putting his feet up by the sea.

He added: “You can either be here with the Under-20s or be on holiday somewhere. And I’m sure all the lads with us would rather be here. “I don’t think you are going to improve ­unless you play in tournaments like this and test yourself against the best.

“During the Under-17s, we played against Spanish lads, like Gerard Deulofeu, who’s at Barcelona, and a good striker called Paco.

“Paul Pogba is playing at this tournament for France, and he’s been playing for Juventus and has played in the ­Champions League.

“I like watching Spanish and Italian games and looking at how they play compared to us. So, I like to test myself against those types of players. You come away better at ­playing against different players and styles.”

Having made his Premier League debut for Liverpool in May, Coady is aware he may have to juggle club and country commitments.

But, having received advice from Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, Coady insists club and country are equally important to him.

He said: “I always believe you give your all for ­whoever you’re playing for, whatever shirt you put on. You play for that team and you want to win for that team – whether I’m wearing a ­Liverpool shirt or an England shirt.”

3 FIFA announced yesterday that referees will use vanishing spray for the first time at the Under-20s World Cup.

It marks a white line on the grass where teams defending a free-kick must stand, but disappears inside two minutes. It will be used on a trial basis in all 52 matches.

Now see the top ten U20 World Cup players Premier League clubs should be watching this month.

Three Englishmen to watch:TOM THORPE (Defender, Manchester United)

Thorpe was part of the Under-17 squad that became 2010 European champions and captained England U-19s to the Euro 2012 semi-finals. The 20-year-old likes to pass the ball out from the back and can also play as a holding midfielder.

ROSS BARKLEY (Midfielder, Everton)

The most recognisable member of the U-20 squad, Barkley has long been touted as a star of the future. Martin Keown claimed 19-year-old Barkley “will be one of the best players we have ever seen in this country” and Tim Cahill said the youngster was the most talented footballer he had worked with.

HARRY KANE (Striker, Tottenham)

Kane played a major part in the U-19s’ progression to the semi-finals of last year’s European Championships, scoring the winner against France in the final group stage game. He was voted Millwall’s Young Player of the Year while on loan at the Den and has also spent time on loan at Leyton Orient, Norwich and most recently Leicester.

However, the visitors got back into the game and equalised on 25 minutes.

Just before half-time the lead was restored when Lucy Bronze headed home from a corner.

Birmingham fought hard for an equaliser and Liverpool had an almighty let-off after 63 minutes when Jo Potter's strike came back off both posts and somehow stayed out.

Jess Holbrook nearly made it 3-1 in the 68th minute when she let fly with a great effort that smashed against the post.

Then on 78 minutes Dowie was unlucky when her close-range header was brilliantly kept out.

Beard's side eventually got the vital third goal when Dowie deflected a Fara Williams effort into the net to make it 10 goals from 12 games, and Rolser then made it 4-1 with a fine strike.