Women's World Cup 2015: England Team Guide
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada is just 12 days away, and England coach Mark Sampson is fine tuning his squad in preparation for their first game against France on June 9.
His Lionesses take on hosts Canada on Friday in their final warm up match and he will be hoping the performance helps him decide his starting XI for the Group F opener.
Women's football in England is continuing to grow, but there is slight pressure on the squad to make an impact in Canada.
Only two years have passed since England failed to win a single game at the European Championships. Canada is a chance at redemption, but also to show progression.
The Road to Canada
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England’s qualification for this World Cup was almost flawless. In their destruction of Belarus, Turkey, Montenegro, Ukraine and Wales, they scored an impressive 52 goals. They finished the group stage with a perfect record, the only blot being Olha Ovdiychuk’s solitary goal for Ukraine in Lviv.
England were 2-0 up at the time, goals from Casey Stoney and Eni Aluko giving them a commanding lead after 14 minutes. The game finished 2-1 and that was the closest any side came to stealing any points away from the group winners.
UEFA Qualifying Group 6
 England | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 1 | +51 | 30 | |
 Ukraine | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 9 | +25 | 22 | |
 Wales | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 19 | |
 Turkey | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 31 | −19 | 12 | |
 Belarus | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 31 | −19 | 6 | |
 Montenegro | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 53 | −47 | 0 |
Top scorers
Eniola Aluko 13, Toni Duggan 10, Karen Carney 7, Natasha Dowie 5, Ellen White 3
FIXTURES
September 21, 2013: England 6-0 Belarus
Goals: Carney (3', 26, 40), White (13'), Dowie (60'), Aluko (62')
September 26, 2013: England 8-0 Turkey
Goals: Duggan (1', 2', 37'), White (30', 39'), Aluko (33', 49'), Dowie (75')
October 26, 2013: England 2-0 Wales
Goals: Nobbs (48'), Duggan (57')
October 31, 2013: Turkey 0-4 England
Goals: Aluko (10'), Williams (17' pen), Duggan (48'), Nobbs (60')
April 5, 2014: England 9-0 Montenegro
Goals: Duggan (2', 13, 71'), Aluko (37'), J.Scott (40'), Carney (49'), Sanderson (55'), Stokes (69'), Dowie (84')
May 8, 2014: England 4-0 Ukraine
Goals: Dowie (41', 53'), Aluko (49', 63')
June 14, 2014: Belarus 0-3 England
Goals: Aluko (31'), Houghton (36'), Bronze (95')
June 19, 2014: Ukraine 1-3 England
Goals: Ovdiychuk (63')
Stoney (11'), Aluko (14')
August 21, 2014: Wales 0-4 England
Goals: Carney (16'), Aluko (39'), Bassett (44'), Sanderson (45')
September 17, 2014: Montenegro 0-10 England
Goals: Aluko (8', 31', 64'), Carney (22', 51'), Bronze (27'), Duggan (56', 94'), Greenwood (90'), Potter (93')
Squad List
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Full England Squad:
| GK | Karen Bardsley | 14 October 1984 (aged 30) | 43 | 0 | Manchester City |
| GK | Siobhan Chamberlain | 15 August 1983 (aged 31) | 33 | 0 | Arsenal |
| GK | Carly Telford | 7 July 1987 (aged 27) | 5 | 0 | Notts County |
| DF | Laura Bassett | 2 August 1983 (aged 31) | 49 | 2 | Notts County |
| DF | Lucy Bronze | 28 October 1991 (aged 23) | 16 | 2 | Manchester City |
| DF | Alex Greenwood | 7 September 1993 (aged 21) | 12 | 1 | Notts County |
| DF | Steph Houghton | 23 April 1988 (aged 27) | 53 | 7 | Manchester City |
| DF | Claire Rafferty | 11 January 1989 (aged 26) | 9 | 0 | Chelsea |
| DF | Alex Scott | 14 October 1984 (aged 30) | 123 | 12 | Arsenal |
| DF | Casey Stoney | 13 May 1982 (aged 33) | 118 | 6 | Arsenal |
| MF | Katie Chapman | 15 June 1982 (aged 32) | 85 | 8 | Chelsea |
| MF | Jade Moore | 22 October 1990 (aged 24) | 16 | 1 | Birmingham City |
| MF | Jordan Nobbs | 8 December 1992 (aged 22) | 21 | 3 | Arsenal |
| MF | Josanne Potter | 13 November 1984 (aged 30) | 19 | 2 | Birmingham City |
| MF | Jill Scott | 2 February 1987 (aged 28) | 90 | 13 | Manchester City |
| MF | Fara Williams | 25 January 1984 (aged 31) | 139 | 37 | Liverpool |
| FW | Eniola Aluko | 21 February 1987 (aged 28) | 90 | 32 | Chelsea |
| FW | Karen Carney | 1 August 1987 (aged 27) | 103 | 23 | Birmingham City |
| FW | Toni Duggan | 25 July 1991 (aged 23) | 25 | 14 | Manchester City |
| FW | Fran Kirby | 29 June 1993 (aged 21) | 8 | 2 | Reading |
| FW | Lianne Sanderson | 3 February 1988 (aged 27) | 46 | 15 | Arsenal |
| FW | Jodie Taylor | 17 May 1986 (aged 29) | 8 | 4 |  Portland Thorns |
| FW | Ellen White | 9 May 1989 (aged 26) | 50 | 17 | Notts County |
Coach Profile: Mark Sampson
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The 32-year-old Welshman took over the England side from Hope Powell in 2013 after he had spent five years in charge of English club side Bristol Academy.
He was very successful there, leading them to two FA Women’s FA Cup finals, and guided the club to second place in the Women’s Super League in his last season.
Sampson started his footballing education in Wales, studying under Roberto Martinez at Swansea City’s Academy of Excellent, and you can see that in England’s style of play. Emphasis is made to play the ball along the ground.
They show creativity in the midfield and then exploit the wings with pace to stretch the defence.
Sampson likes his players to be versatile, with England’s front three taking up different positions all over the attack and look to interchange, finding space in the final third.
He also regularly cites the importance of a player’s character, mentality and the positive attitude they can try to the squad.
The young coach has picked a squad that has a good mix of youth and experience, and taking on an international tournament for the first time, he will look to those with World Cup experience to help guide the team in the right direction.
Star Player: Eniola Aluko
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England will look to the vast experience of Eni Aluko going into the World Cup in Canada. There is virtually nothing in the women’s game that she hasn’t seen or done, still only 28 years old, this is her chance to shine on the international stage.
She is blessed with blistering pace and the footwork to trouble both full backs and central defenders. She can play out wide and use her intelligence to link up with teammates, or she will burst through the centre, leaving opponents for dead.
During the qualification process, Aluko scored 13 goals in 10 games and has taken that form into this season’s WSL campaign. Chelsea are top of the league and unbeaten before the break.
Three seasons in the US Women’s Professional Soccer League sandwiched by two spells in England has seen her mature as an all-round impressive player.
Aluko is yet to score at a World Cup, and watching her performances in the WSL this season, it would be a brave person that bets against her this summer.
One to Watch: Jordan Nobbs
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Diminutive Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs has everything you would want from a box-to-box midfielder. She is energetic and willing to run herself into the ground for her team.
When you give her the ball she possesses fantastic balance and poise on the ball and can punish you from distance if you give her too much time and space.
For Hartlepool, her Dad Keith Nobbs was a no-nonsense centre-back and Jordan has taken that attitude from Sunderland to Arsenal, but doesn’t quite see herself in her father’s image, via The Guardian:
"I've definitely got that fight and determination but maybe not as brutal as my dad. I've got his legs, though, my mum always says that. I'm known for my big calves, unfortunately. It's not a good look!"
Still just 22, she has been part of the England set-up since she was 15, her creativity and drive from the midfield will become a key part of how the Lionesses compete this summer.
World Cup Record
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1991: China
Did not qualify
1995: Sweden
Quarter-Finalists: Finishing second in the group gave England a quarter-final match against Germany, they lost 3-0
1999: USA
Did not qualify
2003: USA
Did not qualify
2007: China
Quarter-Finalists: England finished second behind Germany before losing 3-0 to the USA in the knockout stages.
2011: Germany
Quarter-Finalists: After wining twice in the group stage, England drew 1-1 with France in the knockout stage before being knocked out 4-3 on penalties.
Group Fixtures
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England are in Group F with France, Colombia and Mexico, and should find their way into the knockout stages. With the tournament extended to 24 teams, finishing runners-up could give them a tough last 16 tie with either Germany or Norway.
The expectation is to at least reach the quarter-finals, Sampson’s team have the players to do that, but the draw may not fall in their favour.
France vs. England
June 9, 2015, 14:00 local time
Moncton Stadium, Moncton, New Brunswick
England vs. Mexico
June 13, 2015, 17:00 local time
Moncton Stadium, Moncton, New Brunswick
England vs. Colombia
June 17, 2015, 16:00 local time
Moncton Stadium, Moncton, New Brunswick
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