White keen on Cyprus Cup
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Striker says annual tournament is key preparation for Croatia in March.
Ellen White believes the Cyprus Cup will provide England with a crucial piece of preparation ahead of their Euro 2013 qualifier away to Croatia at the end of March.
Hope Powell has taken her England Women’s squad to Larnaca for their annual assault on this friendly tournament and the Three Lions will come up against Finland (on Tuesday), Switzerland (Thursday) and France (Sunday) in the group stage. They will then play one final game next week against one of the other eight sides in the competition.
“It’s important to get the squad together and to get some game-time ahead of Croatia. That is a massive game for us,” began White.
“Last year was my first experience of the Cyprus Cup and I really enjoyed it. It’s a good experience of tournament football for us because we play a lot of games in a short space of time and there are a lot of good teams here so it will be tough and that is exactly what we need.”
During the Cyprus Cup Fara Williams, Rachel Unitt and Casey Stoney could all earn their 100th international cap.
“The priority is to qualify for the Euros and our next qualifier is approaching, so the Cyprus Cup will give us a great opportunity to prepare for that game,” said National Coach Powell.