Hope remains positive
Friday, 18 July, 2008
Hope Powell refused to be downbeat after her side's 3-0 defeat to Germany in Unterhaching.
England Head Coach Hope Powell refused to be downbeat after her side were beaten 3-0 by Germany in Unterhaching last night.
The Three Lions had been together since Sunday and Hope admitted that for many of the players, it had been the start of pre-season.
"We knew when we agreed to this fixture that the two countries would be at different levels of fitness and we had a few heavy legs amongst us.
"I could use that as an excuse but I won't, as Germany in spells were outstanding.
"We did some things well but contributed to our own downfall on two of the goals. The important thing is that as individuals and as a team, we learn from those things."
The English season kicks-off at Macclesfield Town on 7 August when Arsenal take on Everton in The FA Tesco Women's Community Shield before two crucial Euro 2009 qualifiers away to the Czech Republic and Spain.
"For us, this game was all about building towards the next challenge. If we qualify for the Euros in Finland, we'll then have ten months before the tournament in August 2009." added Hope.
"It was a compliment that Germany wanted to play us as their final warm-up game, and we've already talked about them coming over to England next year.
"These games are tough challenges for our players, but to have the world, European and possibly Olympic champions would be a game that everyone involved in the women's game would relish, and hopefully attract a big crowd too."
Photos: Nora Kuse (
www.ff-archiv.de
)