England's Karen Carney relishing Colombia test at Women's World Cup
Sunday 14 June 2015 20:35, UK
Karen Carney says England are counting down the days till their final game in Women’s World Cup Group F against Colombia on Wednesday.
England headed to Montreal on a high following the 2-1 victory over Mexico in Moncton, with Reading’s Fran Kirby scoring the first before second half substitute Carney added a second.
Neither started the 1-0 defeat against France in England ‘s World Cup opener but Carney believes such healthy competition for places bodes well for their chances in the tournament’s latter stages.
"The team did really well and dealt with the pressure. We dug deep when we needed to and got the result, now we are really excited to play Colombia," the Birmingham City Ladies skipper told the FA’s website.
"The competition is healthy. We are all supporting each other and are all behind each other as we will be against Colombia."
England had started Saturday bottom of Group F but are now second behind Colombia, after the South American side's stunning 2-0 upset against France in the earlier kick-off in Moncton.
With the top two qualifying automatically, along with the four best third-placed teams, Sampson knows just what was on the line and believes England can emerge stronger from it.
"The players had to handle that extra pressure of knowing a loss would have meant England going home. It was great for the players to experience that, and they delivered," he said.
"It was a huge positive for us because we are going to have to handle pressure in this tournament."
