Hope: 'We need three points'
Saturday, 16 June, 2012
Hope Powell has called on her charges to beat Holland in Euro qualifier
Hope Powell has called on her England Women’s team to collect three vital points in today’s Euro 2013 qualifier against Holland.
England know they must win the Group 6 encounter, which is being staged at Salford City Stadium in Manchester, to stand any realistic chance of qualifying automatically for next summer’s Euro Finals. If Holland win they will seal top spot and leave Powell’s charges hoping to finish as the best runners-up – if not, they will face a two-legged play-off in October.
“This is a really tough challenge for us and it's going to take a lot of concentration and diligence to get the result we want,” said Powell.
“Holland have been playing with an air of confidence lately and I’m sure their new manager, Roger Reijners, has given them that belief. Their style has completely changed since he took over. They are now more of an attacking force. We are going to have to be on top of our game because we need the three points.
“We did well in Holland in October,” she continued, “but we were probably a little too defensive. We have learned from that game and I am hoping we can take what we have learnt into this game.
“If we are good enough on the day we'll get the result we want and then hopefully go on to win our last two matches to win the group and take us to Sweden.”