MX23RW : Thursday, January 30 15:39:56| >> :600:3727660:3727660:

Neville wants England to continue playing with freedom after SheBelieves Cup win

Neville wants England to continue playing with freedom after SheBelieves Cup win
© Reuters
England were crowned winners of the invitational round-robin tournament in the United States for the first time.

England Women boss Phil Neville has urged the Lionesses to continue playing with the freedom and expression they have shown during the triumphant SheBelieves Cup campaign.

England were crowned winners of the invitational round-robin tournament in the United States for the first time after beating Japan 3-0.

The victory followed last week's 2-1 win over Brazil and Saturday's 2-2 draw with the US, the reigning world champions.

England face Japan, Scotland and Argentina in Group D at this summer's World Cup in France, which gets under way on June 7.

Neville told Sky Sports News: "We're not going to start moonwalking backwards because people are starting to say we've got a good team and that we're going to do well.

"We've actually got to puff our chests out and say 'do you know what? This is where we want to be'.

"My players are at their best when they're challenged, they're at their best when they're playing on the big occasion.

"So it's full steam ahead. We're enjoying it, the players are playing with a real freedom and an expression and that must continue.

"The nearer we get to the World Cup, the more it will be ramped up but we're just going to make sure we know our destination."

The goals against Japan all came in the first half of the contest in Florida, scored by Lucy Staniforth, Karen Carney and Beth Mead.

Striker Jodie Taylor, who set up Staniforth and Carney, said: "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. It's great to win this but we know it's not the World Cup, we've got work to do.

Jodie Taylor set up England's first two goals against Japan (Nick Potts/PA).
Jodie Taylor set up England's first two goals against Japan (Nick Potts/PA)

"But we do have the confidence and we do have the belief that perhaps we didn't have in the past.

"We will be working hard to try to bring that trophy home in the summer."

Forward Toni Duggan said: "It's a tournament against the best and we've come out on top so I'm absolutely delighted, but for me the real work starts tomorrow because we've got a World Cup to prepare for and this was just a tournament to prepare for that.

"That's the main one, so we know we've got to go away and work a lot harder now."

England now host Canada, Spain, Denmark and New Zealand in friendlies before heading to the World Cup.

One negative for them from the Japan game was Izzy Christiansen coming off injured towards the end of the first half.

The Lyon midfielder was reduced to tears while receiving treatment for possible knee and ankle problems suffered during a hefty collision with Japan defender Risa Shimizu.

Neville was quoted by the BBC as saying: "It looks bad. But she's strong. We have lost Jordan Nobbs already in the build-up. Christiansen is vital to our squad. Hopefully she will be OK."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '8cc96b53-04f4-45d0-af0d-3bcc7cf5e9de');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Neville wants England to continue playing with freedom after SheBelieves Cup win'});

ID:352502: cacheID:352502:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8555:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Casey Stoney in action for England in October 2015
Read Next:
Stoney not ready to try managing men's team
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


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!