The words from the England camp after their 1-0 victory over Canada sees them lift the Cyprus Cup…
Lianne Sanderson’s 68th minute strike was the only goal in a tight game in which England beat Canada 1-0 to lift the 2015 Cyprus Cup. Here’s what the coach & some of his players had to say in reaction to a satisfying tournament and another step on the road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015. TONY LEIGHTON reports…
Head Coach Mark Sampson:
“We challenged the team to win the tournament and put pressure on them to deliver.
“They’ve done that fantastically well and I’m very proud of the players – this will give us a lot of confidence moving forward towards the World Cup finals.
“We’ve proved throughout the tournament that we’re a difficult team to play against, and I’m delighted with the way the group is coming together.
“We can play in all kinds of different ways. We can be solid and resolute, we can be open and expansive – we’re becoming a team that not many will want to face in Canada.”
Jordan Nobbs (after captaining England for the first time and lifting the Cyprus Cup):
“It was a great day for me personally but for the team as well.
“Getting the chance to be captain of England is a dream come true and leading the team out was a lovely moment – as was lifting the trophy of course!
“I’m really proud, and proud of the girls too because we put in a really good performance and we truly deserved to beat a very good Canada team.
“They’re one of the top 10 in the world and we need to be beating teams like this to show we’re really ready for the World Cup finals.
“This is another stepping stone on the way to Canada for us and I believe we can go there and make a real impact.”
Goalscorer Lianne Sanderson:
“The coaches and the video lady Emma got me a clip to watch of (Real Madrid striker Karim) Benzema.
“They said, ‘you’re like Benzema,’ and on a split screen they showed me one of his goals together with one of mine.
“That really helped me because I’m a visual kind of person, so I think that my goal was reward for the coaching staff as well as me for all the work we’ve been doing together on finishing during this tournament.”
Sanderson scored against Canada in 2009’s 3-1 Cyprus Cup final win and hit two goals in last year’s Cyprus Cup group win against the same opponents:
“For some reason I seem able to score against the Canadians,” said the striker. “I’ve played against a lot of their players in club football over in America, and I think that it helps when you know your opponents well.
“Winning the tournament means we’re on a really good run now, and although we won’t get carried away I believe we’re getting better with every camp and we can look forward with confidence to the World Cup.”
After her first England appearance for two-and-a-half years following a third ACL injury, Claire Rafferty:
“It was very special to be back in an England shirt.
“It was quite an emotional moment when we were lining up before the game, and it took me a little while to get over the emotion.
“I had to tell myself, ‘come on, step up now.’ It was a massive thing for me to be back in my national team after such a long time, and so good that we won.
“I’ve been working step-by-step towards this, and hopefully now I can continue to build, do well for Chelsea and be knocking on the door for a World Cup place.”
IMAGES: Ville Vuroinen/SHEKICKS.NET
VIEW MORE IMAGES FROM THE CYPRUS CUP 2015 HERE.
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