Hope lauds record crowd
- Wednesday,
Great Britain 1-0 Brazil
London 2012 Women's Football
Group E
7.45pm, Tuesday 31 July 2012
Wembley Stadium, London
Live on BBC3
Hope Powell paid tribute to the record crowd that helped inspire her Team GB Women’s side to a 1-0 Olympic win over Brazil.
70,584 fans, the largest ever audience for a women’s game in Britain, crammed into Wembley Stadium to see Great Britain take on the two-time Olympic silver medallists and they left the game elated after Steph Houghton’s second-minute strike secured three points which allowed Team GB to top Group E.
"The atmosphere was electric and we got off to a great start," said Powell. "It gave us an edge, it was fantastic. Personally, I wish I could thank every one of the supporters.
"Usually when I talk on the sidelines the girls can hear me, but this was a good excuse for them to ignore me."
Team GB can now prepare for Friday’s quarter-final against Canada, who finished third in Group F, and Powell believes her charges will be up against it.
"Canada are a decent side, their group was tough,” she said. "I went to Switzerland to watch them a couple of weeks ago when they played New Zealand and I have come up against them a couple of times before as England coach.
"It will be a hard contest. I know their manager John Herdman and their fitness levels are ten times better than they used to be."
