France v England
World Cup Qualifier
Saturday 30 September 2006
Stade de la Route Lorient, Rennes FC

England will be unchanged for the final Women's World Cup qualifier away to France on 30 September after Head Coach Hope Powell named her squad today.

After the convincing 4-0 victory over Holland at The Valley at the end of August, The Three Lions need a point at the Stade de la Route de Lorient to qualify for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The two sides ironically battled it out in 2002 in a two-legged play-off for a place at the 2003 Finals, with France winning 2-0 on aggregate.

Then, Faye White and Kelly Smith were absent through injury and Katie Chapman was pregnant with her son Harvey, as The Three Lions struggled without the spine of the team.

Four years on and Chapman and her Arsenal teammate Mary Phillip both stand to make their 50th appearance for their country, whilst Casey Stoney, Rachel Unitt, Fara Williams, Amanda Barr and Rachel Yankey will also hold memories of starting against Les Bleus at Selhurst Park.

After seven qualifiers in which Hope's squad have scored 28 goals and conceeded just one, the group boils down to the very last game, if, as is widely predicted, France secure three points in their penultimate qualifier at home to Austria on 23 September.

Looking ahead to the game, Hope is still happy to repeat the cliche 'one game at a time', but admits that it is a view which has been bought into by the players.

She told TheFA.com: "Every time this group of players comes together, myself and the staff are looking at ways to improve on everything.

"Euro 2005 is a big reference point as the players really matured through the experience of that tournament; the highs and lows, and preparing themselves both physically and mentally for matches.

"We give the players the chance to take responsibility for a lot that happens around the training camps but I demand a level of performance.

"Being away from families on the road can get repetitive but whilst we try and ensure there is an element of fun to everything we do, when we get down to business, it's business.

"Taking each game as it comes is probably the most horrendous football cliche there is, but for us, it has been true throughout this campaign. I haven't wanted the players or staff to have their focus altered for one moment from the task in hand, and for everyone, that task now is France.

"I hope that there will be fans of the game who will come and support us in Rennes and the players will be giving everything they've got to get the result we all want."

The Stade de la Route de Lorient is located in west-central Rennes. The stadium is currently the home of Stade Rennais, and its capacity is 31,127. Kick-off for the game is at 8.30pm (Central European Time).

England Squad:

Player

Club

Rachel Brown

Everton

Siobhan Chamberlain

Bristol Academy

Katie Chapman

Arsenal

Lindsay Johnson

Everton

Mary Phillip

Arsenal

Casey Stoney

Charlton Athletic

Rachel Unitt

Everton

Anita Asante

Arsenal

Jill Scott

Everton

Vicky Exley

Doncaster Rovers

Fara Williams

Everton

Alex Scott

Arsenal

Josanne Potter

Charlton Athletic

Kelly Smith

Arsenal

Amanda Barr

Blackburn Rovers

Karen Carney

Arsenal

Jody Handley

Everton

Eniola Aluko

Charlton Athletic

Sue Smith

Leeds United

Rachel Yankey

Arsenal