Japan v England
World Cup 2007, Group A
1pm (BST), Tuesday 11 September 2007
Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
Watch it live on BBC Two or online

Less than 48 hours before England kick-off their opening FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 game against Japan, England Head Coach Hope Powell provided an update from the camp.

After sustaining a knee injury in the warm-up game against China in Macau just over a fortnight ago, Arsenal's Anita Asante has been the only injury doubt amongst the squad of 21, but is battling her way back to full fitness.

"Anita isn't quite there yet," Hope told a large gathering of journalists. "But after an MRI scan proved the injury was not as bad as first thought, she's fighting her way back into the frame."

Hope confirmed that no final decision had been made about the starting eleven against Japan, but explained that the players have been straining at the leash.

"The players just want to get out there and start the tournament now, so we've built in some relaxation time for players to meet friends and family.

"Those people are inspiring for the players as they've come a long way at great expense to support them.

"We've created an open environment where the players feed back to us all the time, and what we need now is a 'relaxed readiness' so they save their energy for Tuesday's game."

The players and staff visited the Honkou Stadium earlier in the day, soaking up the atmosphere and visualising what it may be like on Tuesday evening when close to capacity.

"It's important for the players to do that before the first game and after being only half-refurbished in April, it's now a first class stadium" added Hope.

Japan are ranked just two places above England and are similarly matched in physique, but have appeared in five World Cups, compared to England's one.

"That experience, allied to their fitness and organisation make them opponents to be respected, but we've had them watched five or six times since the World Cup draw, and know they have weaknesses that hopefully we can exploit.

"We'll be going into every game wanting three points. We feel we've prepared the squad as best as we possibly can, and once that first whistle blows, hopefully the players will rise to the challenge."