England Head Coach, Mark Sampson, was quizzed about his team selection and substitutions following the 2-1 win over China at the City Academy in Manchester.
Mark Sampson
General overview of the game:
First and foremost it was an important result for us, although it was a friendly match, it was our last match on home soil, going into a tournament in the summer. And coming off very good tournament in Cyprus we wanted to maintain momentum and that was important to get that result against a very difficult Chinese team, who play in a way that we are not really used to in this country. We had to show a lot of steel at times in the game. What was most pleasing for me were the times when I thought we were outstanding. First 15 minutes, we were very well organised defensively, pressed the ball well, scored two goals and should have scored four really, with the chances we had. We conceded a bit of a sloppy one from a corner, the momentum of the game changed but overall really pleased with the result and the spells in the game when I thought we were outstanding.
On team selection, was this the best team available:
We have been very honest with the players that we will pick the best team we feel suits that game. We felt tonight that with Jodie and Fran’s ability to run in behind and Fran’s dribbling ability on the counter attack, they would be very good weapons for us against the Chinese team that left spaces in those areas, Also with Jade and Jordan on the sides, we felt we needed that energy in there to deal with the switches of play that they operate quite a lot. In terms of the selection, it’s a matter of making sure we’re in a place to give ourselves the best chance to win the game and we’ll have to look at it again come France because France are going to pose different problems and we’ve got to make sure we get the selection right. But the pleasing thing for me is that we’ve got a big group of players, that again, with the players that came off the bench tonight, are ready to make an impact, whether that be from the start or from the bench.
Explaining the substitutions:
Fran and Jodie, first and foremost, put in an incredible shift, particularly Fran who took a knock early in the game but really dug it out for us in terms of making sure she did her job, both with and without the ball and naturally the way we ask them to work defensively and the runs they make with the ball, they’re going to tire towards the end of the game. The likelihood of us making forward changes is always going to be there, in the 60th-70th minute. Eni and Lianne approached that and came on and did that job, in relation to Toni and Ellen, we felt we were allowing their full backs too much time to deliver long balls and when teams are able to play an angled long pass it’s far more difficult than defending a straight one. We just needed some more pace on the sides and positive players to not only press and stop those long balls happening but we also thought we might need a third goal and on the counter attack then you’ve got the three speedsters of Toni, Ellen and Eni on the pitch – if you win the ball back, you’ve got a great chance on the counter attack, to finish the game off.
The players this week have been exemplary. They’re under immense pressure at the moment. They know we’ve got a group of 30-35 players, who all have a realistic chance of being on that plane. I have no doubt that everyone in my changing room at the moment is desperate to get on that plane and be part of my squad, because there’s such a good feeling within the group that we can achieve something in the summer. So, I think the players have handled that pressure very well today because that’s the type of pressure we’re going to experience in the tournament. Tournament football isn’t always about playing pretty football it’s about sometimes finding a way to get a result and I think the players, from my point of view tonight, have shown me both that they can play good football, create chances and score goals and also shown me that when it needs to be backs to the wall that they can work hard and find a way to see out a game. The players have accepted that challenge all week. I’m pleased the way they’ve worked and stuck together as a group.
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