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England Women vs Scotland Women. Women's World Cup Group D.

Allianz RivieraAttendance13,188.

England Women 2

  • N Parris (14th minute pen)
  • E White (40th minute)

Scotland Women 1

  • C Emslie (79th minute)

England vs Scotland preview: Rivals braced for Women's World Cup showdown

Follow updates with our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app; kick-off is at 5pm.

England's Steph Houghton and Scotland's Rachel Corsie
Image: England's Steph Houghton and Scotland's Rachel Corsie are set to lead out their sides on Sunday

England and Scotland go head to head in their opening match of the Women's World Cup in Nice on Sunday.

Phil Neville's Lionesses are among the tournament favourites having won the SheBelieves Cup earlier this year, while Scotland are playing at the finals of the competition for the first time and suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to England in the sides' last clash at Euro 2017.

But both camps - who are competing with Argentina and Japan in Group D for the top two spots that would take them to the knockout stage - have been talking tough ahead of the showdown.

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Lee Alexander and Claire Emslie say they are treating Scotland vs England like any other game, but Alexander says it feels like

'We can cause England problems'

Scotland are ranked 20th in the world but midfielder Jo Love - the squad's most capped player with 191 appearances to her name - believes her team-mates can surprise Neville's third-ranked side.

"We're looking to go and get a positive result from the game," Love said. "Whether it's a shock will be up to everyone else to decide, but we've certainly got the talent to cause England problems and we'll be looking to shut them out.

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Scotland's Joanne Love says their FA has given them everything they needed to prepare well for the upcoming women's World Cup

"We don't have anything to lose. England will probably be feeling the pressure given the fact they are favourites and probably favourites to go on and do really well in the overall competition."

Midfielder Erin Cuthbert - Chelsea Women's Player of the Year - also believes Shelley Kerr MBE's side can exceed expectations.

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"We've set a target to get out of the group, we've got enough quality in our squad and we've been preparing for over a year now. We aren't here to just take part," she said. "Yes, it's a big achievement, but we don't want to settle. I think the squad is capable of so much more."

'England like the pressure'

Neville says his side are relishing the role of favourites ahead of Sunday's clash.

The Lionesses boss has made it clear his side are aiming to win the tournament in France for the first time but he is also under no illusions about the challenge posed by their rivals.

Neville said: "I think we've been handling those expectations for the last 12 months or probably since I came into the job. We know and like the pressure being on us. We're not going to hide away from the fact that we want to come into this competition and do well.

"We know tomorrow we are the favourites for the game because of our world ranking, but we also know and have a lot of respect for the opposition."

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England's Ellen White previews their World Cup opener with Scotland on Sunday in Nice

England's pre-tournement momentum was checked by a shock 1-0 defeat to New Zealand in their final warm-up game.

But Lucy Bronze has shrugged off any doubts about her team-mates' condition heading into the tournament, saying: "We've got some of the best strikers in the world, top attacking players and we know we can create the chances, it's just putting them away. I'm absolutely not worried."

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Jill Scott is excited to get England's World Cup campaign underway

Team news

Toni Duggan missed training on Saturday, having withdrawn from Wednesday's session with a thigh issue, though Neville played down the severity of her injury at his pre-match news conference.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Toni Duggan of England during the International Friendly between England Women and Canada Women at The Academy Stadium on April 05, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Image: Toni Duggan missed training in the run-up to the game

But defender Demi Stokes, who had not taken part with the group in that session, was involved this time, as were the other 21 members of Neville's squad.

Unlike the sides' last meeting, Scotland have Arsenal pair Kim Little and Jen Beattie - two players with more than a century of caps - fit.

Cuthbert and Manchester City midfielder Caroline Weir are other key players in what is a full-strength squad for Kerr.

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With just two weeks to go until they kick off their World Cup campaign against Scotland, the England Women's squad welcomed the nation's press to their training camp at St. George's Park

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  • This will be the first ever meeting between England and Scotland at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
  • In their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup appearance, Scotland will face England for the first time since a 6-0 defeat in the 2017 European Championship group stage.
  • England have reached at least the quarter-final stage in each of their previous four Women's World Cup tournaments, with their best ever finish being third place in the 2015 edition (defeating Germany 1-0 in the third-placed playoff).
  • Both sides topped their respective UEFA Qualification Groups in reaching the tournament, with each nation winning seven of their eight qualifying games (Eng D1, Sco L1).
  • Nikita Parris was England's top goal scorer in qualifying with 6 goals, with England scoring a total of 29. Indeed, England conceded just one goal in qualification, the fewest of all UEFA qualifying teams.

England WC debutants to watch

Nikita Parris: The top-scoring English player in this past season's Women's Super League and helped Manchester City to victory in both of the major domestic cup competitions as she continued her progression into one of the most talented forwards in Europe.

Nikita Parris is congratulated by teammates Rachel Daley and Steph Houghton after scoring against the United States in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup
Image: Nikita Parris starred at the 2019 SheBelieves Cup

Keira Walsh: Another to have enjoyed a fine season with Manchester City, Walsh made her senior debut for her country in a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in November 2017 and the 22-year-old has since emerged as an important player during Neville's reign.

Beth Mead: Mead was another to make huge strides during England's successful tournament out in the States, having made her breakthrough under Neville. It was the 24-year-old's outrageous strike that won the game against Brazil and she was on target again against Japan as well.

A prolific scorer for Sunderland, Mead has adjusted to playing a wing role after moving to Arsenal and could be one to bring fresh impetus to this England side in France.

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