Teamwork has made the dream work for England, says Faye White
Sunday 28 June 2015 15:25, UK
Former England women's captain Faye White believes England’s ability to utilise the full squad has played a huge part in their run to the World Cup semi-finals.
Head coach Mark Sampson has used every member of his squad - bar the third choice goalkeeper Carly Telford - in the tournament and has mixed up his team selections and formations.
David Beckham has led the praise after Samson made two changes to the team that defeated Norway in the round of 16 on Monday with Jill Scott and Jodie Taylor coming in for Fran Kirby and Toni Duggan and White believes the strength in depth within the England squad has been the backbone of their success.
“From the start Mark said he did not want to be a one-trick pony and he wanted to use his full squad,” White told Sky Sports News HQ.
“He’s believed in every player. It just shows the depth England have now. Over the years that’s been building and building but to be able to change that keeps the other team guessing. What are they going to do? Who are they going to bring on? What are the threats going to be? He’s obviously done his homework but he’s still relatively inexperienced as an international manager.”
White had special praise for goalscorer Taylor, who made her first World Cup start nine weeks after undergoing knee surgery.
Taylor scored the opener after taking advantage of a stumble by Canada's Lauren Sesselmann.
“Her performance and how she impacted the game was brilliant,” White said.
“The fact she has been rehabbing for the last nine weeks, it’s always difficult with a knee injury. You are never sure how it’s going to react after playing. She got some minutes in the game against Norway and did well.
“That shows the faith from Mark Sampson to keep her in the team and believe that she could recover. And obviously the medical staff to allow her to get to the point where she can make an impact but it is hard. You have that doubt in your mind about whether you will be able to do it and whether you can last the 90 minutes.
“It’s a great achievement by her to get back and perform at that level. For her first shot to hit the back of the net with that conviction is a bonus and she’s only got a few caps for England and has four goals now so that’s not a bad scoring record.
“She’s quite new to the team and it was her first full cap in a World Cup and that very impressive.”
They will now play Japan in Wednesday’s semi-final in Edmonton after the reigning champions secured a 1-0 win over a resilient Australia side.
