England head coach Mark Sampson calls on Lionesses to continue improving

Head coach Mark Sampson wants England to consolidate on their stunning World Cup campaign last year and become a consistent force in women’s football.

The Lionesses became the most successful senior England side ever to have travelled to an overseas tournament when they beat Germany to seal Women's World Cup bronze at Canada 2015.

England take part in next month's inaugural SheBelieves Cup, where they play the United States in the opening match in Tampa on March 4, before facing European rivals Germany and France.

"We are still not quite where we want to be," Sampson told Sky Sports News HQ.

"We are not quite there with the Americans, the Germans and the French on a consistent basis but we know on a one-off basis that we can be competitive. The challenge for us is to make sure we are consistent.

"A year ago we would have been far down the list of teams invited to play in this competition but there has been a lot of good work that has gone on to ensure that when these competitions come around, England are involved and the Lionesses are talked about, but also it is a credit to the players.

"They have put themselves right up there in the world rankings. They finished third at a World Cup. They are a team now that are a bit of a scalp for people and even these top nations want to play against England and test themselves."

Arsenal Ladies midfielder Fara Williams needs just two more caps to extend her England appearance record to 150 and Sampson is unsure whether the Londoner's feat will ever be matched.

He said: "Potentially getting to 150, I'm not sure if that will ever be beaten by any player, male or female.