Skip to content

England's Toni Duggan fires France warning ahead of Women's Euro showdown

TILBURG, NETHERLANDS - JULY 27:  Toni Duggan of England looks on during the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Group D match between Portugal and England at Koning Wil
Image: Toni Duggan is confident ahead of quarter-final with France

Toni Duggan reckons England will have France running scared ahead of their quarter-final at the Women's European Championship.

The Barcelona striker struck the opener as a much-changed Lionesses side beat Portugal 2-1 in Tilburg on Thursday to make it three wins from three and top Group D.

England, who beat Scotland and Spain earlier in their campaign, will swiftly turn their focus to a France side who scraped through in second place from Group C.

TILBURG, NETHERLANDS - JULY 27:  Nikita Parris of England celebrates with team mate Toni Duggan after scoring her team's second goal of the game during the
Image: Nikita Parris celebrates with Duggan after scoring her team's second goal against Portugal

And although the Lionesses have not beaten France since 1974, Sunday's last-eight match in Deventer seems as likely an occasion as ever for that unwanted record to end.

"If there is a time to beat France it is now," Duggan told Sky Sports News. "We are flying in this tournament, and I don't think they want to play us.

"It is a quarter-final of a European Championships and if we want to go and win it, we have to beat teams like France. We will be as prepared as ever for this game."

England forward Nikita Parris reacts after scoring against Portugal
Image: Parris reacts after scoring against Portugal

Inside 180 seconds of the restart, Nikita Parris capped her first tournament start for England as she poked home a solo effort after latching onto Izzy Christiansen's forward pass against Portugal, and from there it was comprehensive for Mark Sampson's side who became the first England side to progress from their group with a 100 per cent record.

Also See:

Manchester City's Parris shared Duggan's optimism ahead of the last eight encounter.

"We've played excellent - from the girls who played against Scotland and Spain to the girls who played tonight [against Portugal]," Parris added. "It was a great team effort and I just can't wait to go into the France game now.

"Obviously you've got to respect France but we're in a great position, we're in good form, and I think they'll be more scared of us than we are of them."

Around Sky