Nikita Parris Says England 'Don't Fear America' Ahead of World Cup Semi-Final

Nikita Parris has said nobody in the England side "fears America" ahead of their 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final against the United States on Tuesday at Lyon's Groupama Stadium. 

The U.S. are defending champions and the most successful side in Women's World Cup history with three titles to their name, while England have never made a final. 

Parris, though, pointed out that the Lionesses recently beat the U.S. to the 2019 SheBelieves Cup when explaining why England have nothing to fear against the world's No. 1 ranked side, per the Daily Mail's Ian Herbert:

"Why shouldn't we think we can't be badder than them when we went to the SheBelieves and we won it and we went toe to toe with them? You know, we beat America in the past. We beat them 1-0 [in 2017]. Why shouldn't we think we can beat them? Why do we have to come to this tournament semi-final and think, 'Oh it's America?' Nobody fears America. I don't fear America and I don't think my team-mates do."

The Liverpool-born forward also brushed off the relevance of the Stars and Stripes' 13-0 group-stage annihilation of Thailand:

"No disrespect to Thailand, but 13-0 is against Thailand. Come on ... I don't want to disrespect any other team, but Thailand. ... Yes they did show the ruthless part of them at times, don't get me wrong. But we're not Thailand."

The U.S. were criticised by some for the ruthlessness of their approach against Thailand, the No. 34 ranked team in the world, and the fact they continued to celebrate every goal:

There have also been accusations of arrogance towards Jill Ellis' side in the build-up to the semi-finals:

Many would interpret the team's attitude as confidence bred from previous success, and they have the advantage on Tuesday of having won numerous semi-finals in the past.

England, meanwhile, lost 2-1 to Japan in the last four of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and were then downed 3-0 by Netherlands at the same stage of UEFA Women's Euro 2017.

In Parris, Lucy Bronze, Ellen White, Jill Scott and captain Steph Houghton, England boast a host of impressive players, and they have the ability to beat the U.S.

But on the World Cup stage, they would be surprise winners of Tuesday's semi-final as the United States are the favourites to win the entire tournament.

For England manager Phil Neville, though, only a victory and a spot in a first-ever Women's World Cup final will be acceptable, per Herbert:

"We're at that moment now where it's so close and we've spoken long and hard about this. I want my players to realise that we are so close and we have to deliver. We have to. There is no upside to defeat. Losing in a semi-final would mean nothing to me. Every single meeting, every single training session, every five-a-side we've had, we've spoken about winning. Winning is the most important thing. It's about winning—that's the mentality we've brought in."