Women's Football News
Share page on Social Media: f Share t G+ find us on Twitter: @wssmagnews Women's Football News
 Following on from last week's 3-0 victory against Austria, England go into Thursday's critical World Cup qualifying match against Spain at Millwall with a sense of purpose.England midfield playmaker Fara Williams says there is more to come from this England squad. "I thought we played some good stuff against the Austrians, especially in the second half," she said. "We got the early goal but we seemed a little flat after during the first half. "We got in at half time and had some words and I think the second half was some of our best football for a while. Austria were tough to break down, they had a lot of players behind the ball but I think we showed some good creativity and inventiveness after the break and got our rewards with two quality goals. To be honest, we should have had more goals and we were a bit unlucky with some of our chances, but we know there is much more to come from us." Williams knows the threat Spain present to her World Cup hopes. "We played them in our last European campaign and they were a tough outfit then, nothing has changed on that front," she admitted. "Many people would say that Spain and ourselves are the favourites for the group and who goes through will likely come down the results between us. "As much as we would never overlook other teams, we are aware that it is crucial to get a good result on Thursday and give us something to take with us when we play Spain away in June. "Our season will have finished by June and we will be playing in very hot conditions so Spain may have a slight advantage in that respect but we know we have to focus on Thursday at Millwall and put in a good performance. Spain are technically strong and have some quick attackers in their team but if we defend well and are fully focused, we have the players to hurt them. We will do our homework and the staff and players are leaving nothing to chance. The qualification process is quite complicated this time around, we know only the top team goes through so we know what's at stake." Despite missing players such as Karen Carney and Anita Asante during the campaign, Fara is happy with the depth of the squad: "I think in terms of depth, we have our strongest squad for quite some time. Kelly Smith didn't play against Austria but Lianne Sanderson came in and did very well. She scored with a good header and played a part in making the other goals as well so it just goes to show that we have some good competition for place. "Ellen White came on for her debut and also scored a great goal, Claire Rafferty came on and did well and we know now we do have players that can come on and make a difference. It's vital to have a competitive squad, it makes everyone raise their game, we all want to play and keep our place in the team." Fara is desperate to get to another World Cup, and feels that that the 2007 World Cup in China was the making of this squad. "I feel that our last World Cup campaign really saw us develop as a team, we made the Quarter Finals and put in some good performances and I think it gave us the belief that we could compete with the best teams in the world. "We followed that up by reaching the Final of the Euros last year and we now need to ensure we qualify for Germany. It's vital for the squad and we will be doing everything we can to make sure we get there, starting with Spain. I hope we get a good crowd there Thursday night, we know they can play their part and help us on the night."
| |||||||||||||||
Latest wssTV        News Archive < Women's Sport Search  
   
| |||||||||||||||
| Total page reads: |
© designed, created, hosted and managed by WWW Support Services (click for info)