It was a continuation from the international break, too, where Mead was afforded starts in both of England's fixtures as the absences of Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Jess Park and Grace Clinton massively reduced Sarina Wiegman's options in the wide areas. Had the squad been fuller, the Lionesses boss would've likely rotated more, but instead Mead took full advantage of the opportunity to play 90 minutes in back-to-back games for just the second time in 2025.
In the defeat to Brazil that England kicked-off their October camp with, the Arsenal star was one of the few Lionesses to put in a decent performance, causing problems for the South American champions with her direct and positive approach. She completed no fewer than six key passes, won 11 of her 17 ground duels, delivered three accurate crosses from four attempts and completed three of her four dribbles, while also winning the penalty that Georgia Stanway converted to give England a chance of getting a result.
What stood out most was how often Mead drifted into central areas from her position on the right wing, picking up pockets in which she could receive the ball and hurt the opposition with the time and space she had. That continued a few days later against Australia, as she again created chances aplenty and showcased her footballing intelligence.
"She can play in the pocket really well," Wiegman noted when asked about Mead following the 3-0 win over the Matildas. "She finds pockets and she's intelligent in that. That's what I wanted her to do today, too. When they dropped and had a lower block, of course, you want to break down that block and you want to challenge them in decision making. We try to create overloads and she plays a big part in that."