Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PRIORITY IS ADVANCE
Demi: Forget the occasion and seal a vital World Cup victory
DEMI VANCE insists Northern Ireland won’t be seduced by the hype and romance of playing England at Wembley.
Tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier has added significance as it will be England’s first competitive game at the famous London stadium.
It is a massive acid test for Northern Ireland, whose last meeting with the Lionesses ended in a 6-0 defeat at St George’s Park earlier this year.
Rangers defender Vance refuses to read too much into February’s friendly drubbing, and expects “two different teams” to line out for Saturday’s clash.
And after starting their World Cup campaign with two wins, she is confident of a bold showing against the hotly-fancied hosts.
“As a footballer you want to play in these stadiums and big games, but for us as a team every game is important,” Vance said.
“England at Wembley is a big stage for us, but I think it shows how far we’ve come that we’re playing England in their first home qualifier at Wembley. So we are looking forward to it.
“Every training session we are improving, and both teams will be slightly different to that friendly at St George’s Park so I believe it will be a different game.
“We have the belief we can put in a good performance and get a positive result.
“We are ready to show people we are a different team now and how much we have improved.
“But at the same time it is just another game for us and we will go out and give the best performance we can.”
Tomorrow’s game will be special for Kenny Shiels’ squad, not least Vance who only recently returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The 30-year-old was back for September’s World Cup qualifying openers against Luxembourg and Latvia, and was given the captain’s armband when she came on in the first game at Inver Park.
Vance admits playing at the ‘Home of Football’ will go some way to making up for the lengthy period of rehab she had to endure.
“The past three months have been a lot happier than the past nine. That’s why I am smiling again. I don’t think I smiled for a long time,” she said.
“All these games and training sessions just make me appreciate being on the pitch again. And the last camp we got six points, so it was all positive.
“I have said before, I don’t think I could have got through the injury without the staff and my teammates. They are all my closest friends. And I think that’s why we have come so far over the past two years.
“We are like one big family.”
She added: “Things like playing at Wembley makes all the hard work worth it and I am very much looking forward to it as well. It might make up a little bit for the games I missed.”