A stand-in England captain she may be, but as Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs looks forward to leading the national team out to face China at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium on Thursday evening she is relishing her temporary role ….
By Tony Leighton
… and why not after making a great start as skipper at last month’s Cyprus Cup?
Taking over the captain’s armband from Manchester City’s Steph Houghton, whose injury sustained in Cyprus will also keep her out on Thursday, Nobbs led England to a 1-0 victory in the final over this year’s World Cup hosts Canada.
“Being captain for the first time was a bit overwhelming,” admitted Nobbs, “but since I was young it was something I’d always strived to be and so to get that opportunity – and especially in a Cup final – was fantastic. It was a great moment for me, but it was great too that we won the match and the tournament.”
Now Nobbs is set to wear the armband again as England head into their last game before flying out to the summer’s World Cup tournament. “Being captain of your country is amazing,” reflected the 22-year-old former Sunderland player, “but to do it on home soil will be something else again.
“My family will be there so when we walk out it will be a very proud moment for me, but that won’t affect my focus on the job at hand. I’ll still play my normal game and be aiming to put in a good performance that can help us beat a strong China side with some very technically gifted players.
“It will be a different kind of test than when we play European teams, and that’s good because we need as many variations to play against as we can get before the World Cup. It’s a bonus that we get to face a team as strong as that with new challenges to face, and hopefully we can handle all that and come out on top.”
After Thursday’s game all thoughts will turn towards the World Cup and, says Nobbs, she and her team mates will fly out to Canada confident that they can make a real impact as they look to take England beyond the quarter-final stage – and hopefully all the way to the final – for the first time.
“Every single aspect that we’ll need in Canada has been looked into,” she said, “and that’s being shown in the positive mentality of the girls. We’re starting to feel that vibe and grasp what we need to grasp, confidence is high and once we’re at the tournament our main focus will be to get to that final.”
Photos: Ville Vuorinen/SHEKICKS.NET
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