MX23RW : Tuesday, May 7 02:01:19| >> :600:2613016:2613016:

Alex Scott: 'England going backwards under Phil Neville'

The Lionesses were beaten 2-0 by the USA in their SheBelieves Cup opener and will face Japan on Sunday.

Former England defender Alex Scott believes Phil Neville's management is no longer working for the national team.

The Lionesses suffered their latest defeat against the USA in the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday night and will play Japan in their second game on Sunday.

Having pushed the US all the way in the World Cup semi-finals last summer, England were well beaten this time, with a 2-0 scoreline arguably flattering the defending champions.

Neville insisted afterwards that England are not going backwards, but Scott disagrees.

The full-back-turned-pundit said on the BBC's Football Focus: "Hope Powell was the England manager and she worked miracles to get the women's game to where it was.

"We didn't qualify for major tournaments, she took us to the World Cup quarter-final, a Euro semi-final. Mark Sampson came in and he moved the team forward again.

"We closed the gap, we were competing against teams like America, and my worry with the team now is, we had a honeymoon period where Phil's coming in and he's saying, 'We have to change the style of play, we want to play out from the back', but now it's not working and we're not getting the results.

"We've dropped down the FIFA world rankings, our loss percentage against the highest teams (has increased). So the stats are there to back up that actually at the moment it's worrying because we are on a decline and now that gap that was closed, we're going away from it.

"We're holding a home Euros (next summer) with lots of investment and lots of eyes on the women's game, so I think the game and Phil, it's at a crucial point and we really need to assess where the women's team is going and how we can now compete again with the likes of America."

After a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, England gained revenge with a group-stage victory last summer, and this game will be another good indicator of where Neville's side stand 12 months on.

ID:392159: cacheID:392159:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3047:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Phil Neville in charge of England Women on October 5, 2019
Read Next:
Leah Williamson insists England not out for revenge against USA
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool36239481384378
4Aston Villa36207973532067
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs351861169581160
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Chelsea351591170591154
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd35166135255-354
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham361310135670-1449
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton351211125357-447
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
13Fulham36128165155-444
14Crystal Palace361110154957-843
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!