ENGLAND SPIN FOR RECORDS
ENGLAND women aim to make history as well as progress tonight.
They take on Portugal in the Women’s Euro 2017, bidding to become the nation’s first team to win all three group games at a major tournament since Ron Greenwood’s side in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Head coach Mark Sampson (below) said: “If we do it without conceding a goal we’ll be the firstever England team to do that too.”
So far in Holland, England have beaten Scotland 6-0 to record the biggest winning margin in the Euros. Hammer of the Scots Jodie Taylor became the first Englishwoman to score a hat-trick at a major tournament. And Fran Kirby struck inside two minutes against Spain to register the fastest-ever goal at the Euros.
“So now we’ve got a bit more history to create,” said Sampson. “That’s one of the challenges against Portugal. The most important thing is to get three points on the board, but if we can get a clean sheet and nick that record it’s a nice little bonus.”
Sampson is set to make NINE changes from the side that battled through a rainstorm to beat Spain 2-0 on Sunday as he looks to rotate a squad boasting an unprecedented depth of talent.
England need a point against rank outsiders Portugal to be certain of winning Group D.
Record caps holder Fara Williams is poised to anchor the midfield. The Liverpool schemer said: “Whichever team goes out will perform and get the three points that we want.”
England’s preparations have been meticulous.
They have even hired a second bus so that players have extra leg room on their return from games when they don recovery pumps to accelerate recovery.
“The detail is key to us,” Sampson explained. “There’s a point to everything. The medics have worked incredibly hard.”