Phil Neville says England Women needed Sweden defeat
Loss consigned Lionesses to second defeat under boss and first on home soil
Sunday 11 November 2018 18:52, UK
England Women boss Phil Neville believes his side's 2-0 defeat to Sweden could be a blessing in disguise ahead of next summer's World Cup.
The Lionesses signed off an excellent 2018 with a sloppy performance at Rotherham United's New York Stadium in what was also captain Steph Houghton's 100th appearance.
First-half goals from Sofia Jakobsson (19) and Anna Anvegard (33) consigned England to their second defeat under Neville and their first on home soil.
However, the head coach was philosophical in defeat and believes it could be the reality check his side need in preparation for next summer's tournament in France.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "With 20 minutes to go, I was actually enjoying the fact that maybe we all should suffer.
"Sometimes in life you have got to put yourself through a little bit of pain to get where you want to.
"For the last 12 months everything has been going really smoothly and there's a massive euphoria, and rightly so.
"But along the way, you're going to get bumps. This feels like a bump in the road, and a jolt for us.
"Today was what we needed. I do think that we needed it, to remind everyone that no one is going to just give us the World Cup. We've got to keep working hard."
