Mark Sampson expects SheBelieves Cup response from England
Saturday 5 March 2016 12:16, UK
England Women boss Mark Sampson believes his side will use their "anger and frustration" as motivation when they take on Germany in their second match in the SheBelieves Cup in Nashville on Sunday.
The Lionesses produced a fine display against World Cup winners the United States on Thursday and almost claimed a memorable result, until Crystal Dunn's stunning late goal in Tampa gave the home side a 1-0 win.
Next up are Germany, the side they beat to take third place at the World Cup, and also held to a goalless draw in an away friendly in November.
"The good thing about these Lionesses is that we've shown we're at our best when we've had a setback," Sampson said.
"This team prides itself on our ability, when we get smacked down on our backsides, we get back up and come back stronger so let's try that again on Sunday."
Sampson also revealed he wants the Lionesses to start intimidating their opponents with the authority of the All Blacks and the determination of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
"Fundamentally it's an important part of any high-performing team - any team that wants to be successful," he said.
"It's the Man United factor, and the All Blacks factor. With the All Blacks, I'm pretty sure their players aren't that much better than the other teams, but when the other teams come to play them they've got far less belief they're going to win than the All Blacks have got.
"The All Blacks walk on the field fundamentally believing they'll win that match; so did Manchester United under Ferguson.
"How many games did Manchester United play at Old Trafford when they had a bundle of injuries, so if you looked at it player for player the opponents were far stronger, but they already had that fear factor when they went to Old Trafford and United had that belief that they would find a way to win.
"We know how important it is and we've been working hard. We've made sure the players understand that we've got qualities, we've got strengths, and if we play to those strengths we've got every capability of beating anyone on our day, and with our performances belief has grown."
