Jodie Taylor called 'world class' by Mark Sampson as England hit Scotland for six

Manager Mark Sampson hailed Jodie Taylor as "world class" after her hat-trick guided England to a stunning 6-0 victory over Scotland at the Women's European Championship.

England's win in Utrecht beat the previous highest margin in the history of the tournament, with three previous 5-0 successes having been recorded by Norway, Germany and Sweden.

Taylor's treble was added to by goals from Ellen White, Jordan Nobbs and substitute Toni Duggan, as England made light of a recent record that showed they had not won a major championship opener since the 2005 edition of this competition.

The hat-trick was also the first at a European Championship for 20 years.

"Ever since I've known Jodie from club football, I think everyone's been aware she's a world-class player," Sampson said.

"I've not seen better in the game at anticipating passes behind, moving into positions to receive the ball. Of course, it's dependent on the service, but what Jodie's added to her game in the last 12 months is an ability to be an instinctive finisher.

"It's a quite difficult trait to defend against. It's a great start for Jodie and she should take huge credit for her performance.

"She's a player we've always believed in and had faith in. She's done a great job when called upon as England's number nine."

Taylor was thrilled to make such an impact in the opening game of a campaign that England believe can end in trophy glory.

The 31-year-old Arsenal striker, who was overlooked by previous boss Hope Powell, said: "I'm happy to get off the board and score. To get three goals has been awesome.

"But I wouldn't be able to score without the service from my team-mates so all credit to everyone else for supplying me the ball."

England slumped out of the last European Championship with just one point from three games but it looks like being a wholly different story this time, with Sampson's impressive side relentless against a Scotland team who suffered on their major tournament debut.

Taylor has struggled with injuries during a stop-start England career, and she said: "To be here fit and healthy is a huge achievement for myself and I want to thank Mark for having a lot of confidence in me because without that I wouldn't be here."

Scotland manager Anna Signeul said: "I think it was a really tough debut for us. We played against a very, very good side in England, a team that is a contender in this tournament.

"I think they were good in all areas and we knew that from the beginning.

"Obviously we were disappointed to lose so many goals. It was 3-0 at half-time and that's tough.

"We didn't want to do that. We'll work on our resilience and we'll come back."

Scotland could be without striker Jane Ross for Sunday's game against Portugal in Rotterdam, after she came off with a shoulder injury. England head to Breda on Sunday to play Spain.