Carney ready for competitive return
By Nicholas Veevers
Friday, 16 September, 2011
Winger believes World Cup experience will stand England in good stead.
England midfielder Karen Carney is hoping last summer’s World Cup experience can only help them as they prepare to start a new campaign in Belgrade on Saturday.
Carney and her squad-mates face Serbia in what is the first of the European Championship qualifiers in the new campaign and also the first match since the World Cup.
Whilst England were disappointed with their quarter final placing in Germany in July, the Birmingham City winger feels everyone involved can only have benefited from their experience.
“The first international meet-up after a major tournament is always difficult,” admitted Carney.
“Now we’re just all looking forward, hoping to be a part of something that big again. Next time we want to get to a World Cup Final, not just a quarter final and I think you’ve always got to have that desire.
“We need to aim high. It says something about the progress we have made that we got to a World Cup quarter final and we are disappointed. We felt we could have gone further, particularly because we had beaten all the medallists, Sweden, USA and Japan but I’m sure once we get together on the field we’ll just look forward to playing for England again.”
The fact that England are straight back into competitive action so soon after the World Cup hasn’t gone un-noticed by Carney either so she knows Hope Powell’s side will need to be straight back on it when they face the Serbs.
“We are not just playing a friendly tonight; this is a European qualifier, it’s an important game,” she added.
“We are hungry to get going again. This is a new campaign, a new challenge and we are ready for it."