Paula Holguin receives first Peru Women call-up | OneFootball

Paula Holguin has received her first international call-up to Peru Women first team.

The Brentford Women striker will play two friendlies against El Salvador Women on Wednesday 4 March and Saturday 7 March.

You can watch Holguin and the rest of the team in action as both fixtures will be streamed live via Peru’s YouTube channel. Both games kick off at 8.30pm GMT.

A dynamic striker with excellent technical ability, Holguin joined the Bees in the summer of 2023.

Born in London to Peruvian parents, Holguin said she was honoured to receive her first call-up.

“It was incredible and filled with a lot of emotion,” she explained.

“It’s been a long time coming and I’ve worked really hard for this with the help of Brentford and my family.

“People don’t know this, but they contacted me years ago, but I just didn’t have the right facilities, and I guess I wasn’t ready at the time.”

Despite living in the UK since birth, Holguin has an incredibly strong connection to her parents’ homeland.

“My parents came to London from Peru when they were 18-years-old, but growing up I was fully embedded in the culture, and I thank my parents a lot for that,” she recalled.

“I’ve travelled regularly to Peru since I was two years old. My grandma lived with me as well, so I grew up with her cooking.

“I grew up with a loving family, who loved Peru and where they came from, and that translated to me from a very young age."

Speaking about the call-up, Holguin described it as “one of her greatest achievements to this day.”

“I do it for myself, but mainly for my family – they’re all going to fly out. To be able to do that for them is insane.

“I’m very proud of myself, it goes beyond just my mum and dad, my whole family in Peru have been messaging me all week. It’s all for them.

“I’m very grateful to Peru for giving me the chance to go out and show what I can do."

Holguin also explained how moving to west London to play for the Bees has helped her write her story.

“The set-up at Brentford is incredible,” she said, “it’s a very professional set-up regardless of where we are in the football pyramid.

“The media really helps us to build our profile and become seen; the staff have been incredible.

“I’ve had two great coaches whilst being here and all the support staff have helped me through any bumps in the road.

“The club has helped me out in all aspects of the game and I’m proud to have been part of Brentford in the last few years and I hope to continue to be able to do so."