Scotland Women coach Shelley Kerr says England Women face greater pressure to win
Saturday 8 June 2019 20:59, UK
Scotland Women head coach Shelley Kerr says England are "100 per cent" under more pressure to win their World Cup clash in Nice on Sunday.
Kerr has guided her Scotland team to a first Women's World Cup in their history and they begin their campaign against a strong England side on Sunday.
When asked if the pressure was on England, Kerr replied: "100 per cent. Obviously, it's our first World Cup. Our journey so far has been fantastic and we are playing against a formidable England team who are ranked third in the world.
"Part of the reason he [Phil Neville] took the job is to win the World Cup so it is going to be a tough task, but it is one we are really looking forward to.
"I think there are so many variables that can happen, especially first game, but I think there is no doubt that there is certainly more pressure on England than there is on Scotland. However, the pressure we have will be the pressure the players put themselves under."
Despite losing to England 6-0 in the first game of the European Championships in 2017, the former Arsenal Women's manager is positive about her Scotland team's chances.
Kerr added: "Preparations have been going really well. It has been quite relaxed. I'm a great believer that when you do the tactical work on the pitch, performance analysis, then it's good to give the players a bit of downtime and that's what we've done this week."
"In terms of end results, of course we are hoping to win the game. I think any footballer and any coach goes into every game hoping to win and it is going to be a tough match for us but we are certainly looking to get a good result."
Kerr was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list on Friday and is proud to see the rise of women's football in Scotland after a record home crowd of 18,555 in a 3-2 warm-up victory over Jamaica at Hampden Park.
"To see the journey that Scottish women's football has been on has been incredible," she added. "It has been a great journey for us and a big part of our philosophy was to inspire the next generation in Scotland. The whole country has been captivated by our achievements of getting to the World Cup but we don't want it to stop there."
"[The record attendance] is something I didn't think I would see in my lifetime in Scotland. The whole country has been behind us and the profile that the team have had, the support that they have had, I think that will continue throughout the tournament."
