Phil Neville says England Women are full steam ahead to World Cup
Wednesday 6 March 2019 09:15, UK
England Women head coach Phil Neville says it is "full steam ahead" to the World Cup after winning the SheBelieves Cup in Florida.
The Lionesses produced a stunning first-half display to beat Japan 3-0 on Tuesday and finish top of the table.
It followed a 2-1 win over Brazil and a 2-2 draw against No 1 ranked USA.
England will face Japan again in the World Cup group stages which get underway in France in June, and Neville says the team must build on their success.
"We're not going to start moonwalking backwards because people are starting to say we've got a good team and that we're going to do well," said Neville.
"We've actually got to puff our chest out and say 'do you know what? This is where we want to be'.
"My players are at their best when they're challenged, they're at their best when they're playing on the big occasion.
"So it's full steam ahead. We're enjoying it, the players are playing with a real freedom and an expression and that must continue.
"The nearer we get to the World Cup, the more it will be ramped up and we're just going to make sure we know our destination."
It was a view echoed by Barcelona forward Toni Duggan, who says the SheBelieves Cup has proved ideal preparation for even bigger challenges that lie ahead.
"It's a tournament against the best and we've come out on top so I'm absolutely delighted, but for me the real work starts tomorrow because we've got a World Cup to prepare for and this was just a tournament to prepare for that," he said.
"That's the main one and we know we've got to go away and work a lot harder now."
Jodie Taylor, who was player of the match against Japan, added: "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, it's great to win this but we know it's not the World Cup, we've got work to do.
"But we do have the confidence and we do have the belief that perhaps we didn't have in the past.
"We will be working hard to try to bring that trophy home in the summer."
