SYDNEY — Mary Earps has vowed “the best is yet to come” from England as they prepare for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Colombia.
Only in the 6-1 victory over China in the group stages have the Lionesses really impressed at this tournament, edging past Haiti and Denmark and then requiring penalties to get past Nigeria after a stalemate in the round of 16.
Sarina Wiegman’s side have been steadily grinding out results but were arguably fortunate to take the Nigeria tie to extra time, with the Super Falcons twice hitting the woodwork.
“I really believe the best is yet to come,” promised Earps.
“There’s so much talent in the group and so many more levels we can go. That said, I think there’s an incredible wealth of talent and experience that we’ve had together as an international team but also with the teams we play for at club level.
“I think it’s an exciting time to be an England player, but we have to earn that right every day. We’re constantly looking to improve, drive our performances and our standards. We’re not sitting here happy to be here – we’re not satisfied, we’re not done, there’s more levels to go.”
There will be no Lauren James following her red card for stamping on Michelle Alozie’s back and Fifa have since confirmed she will be banned for the semi-final against Australia or France too, should England get there. Lucy Bronze, Georgia Stanway and Lauren Hemp are all one booking away from a suspension that would rule them out of the last four too.
Wiegman has coped with everything that has been thrown at her team so far, from the absences of Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby to what turned out to be a short-term injury to Keira Walsh.
Those are all mitigating factors, but expectation is growing on England thanks to a relatively kind draw, but even as they jitter their way through the tournament Earps was adamant going through is all that matters.
“The most important thing to note is that we’re winning games,” she added.
“We’re in a results business so we’ve earned the right to be in the position we’re in today. But I experience training every day, I know the players personally and I have had the privilege of working with them for some time and I can see day to day the talent in the team.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ve been bad by any means but you’ve seen glimpses of what we’re capable of. We know as a team the standard we want to get to and we know that we can give more. Our effort has been 110 per cent there and we’ve ground out results.
“However in terms of the way we’d like to dominate games and go about our business, we are excited by that challenge as a group. We think we can do more and that will come with time and learning and experience.
“We have to go out and perform to a really high level. That’s what we will try to do. It’s what we’ve planned for. Nothing is given in this tournament or in the game. We don’t expect anything but it’s more about what we intend to do.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/qoxKOgY
Post a Comment