13 Sep 2007
VIDEO: Alex Scott interview

Alex Scott is confident she will be fit to face Germany, while she reveals the identity of England's newest team member.

England v Germany
World Cup 2007, Group A
1pm (BST), Friday 14 September 2007
Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
Watch it live on BBC Two

Hope Powell believes that England have never been in better shape to take on Germany than they are in now.

Having opened the World Cup by drawing with Japan, there is an added incentive in the match with Silvia Neid's side on Friday and Powell is confident that the experiences gained in the last few years have pushed England to a position where they can compete.

"Absolutely, I think the team have come a long way in terms of overall belief and what they have achieved in the last 15 months," Powell explained.

"They feel confident and have a belief in what they are doing, they are aiming high which is no bad thing.

"Obviously they want to do well in this competition, and at the moment confidence is high so I guess it's just down to the performance on the day.

"We can compete with the best now, we are progressing but I guess the real test comes on Friday."

With the Three Lions turning the game around in the final ten minutes, there were signs that the intensive preparation for the tournament had been effective as the players performance levels remained high throughout the game. Powell is hoping that will continue in the second game of the World Cup.

"I hope we can perform for the 90 minutes, certainly in the last two years the girls have worked very hard on their conditioning.

"If you're in better physical condition then you've got a better chance of being able to compete, especially in these conditions.

"The work they have done, certainly in the last few months, has helped them. It helped them against Japan, they came back strongly in the end and hopefully we can maintain that."

Powell went further by adding that she believed this to be the best shape of any England Women's side, and paid tribute to the back room staff who had made that possible.

"I think it is the best shape an England Women's team has been in. That's credit to the players for the work they have put in; credit to Dawn Scott who has put all the programs together - the girls have been very diligent.

"It's been a very long journey to get here, it hasn't just happened overnight, I think the girls can see the benefits of it now and hopefully it will bear fruit.

"On Friday we will have to appreciate the team that Germany are and respect what they have achieved, but our job is to go out and try and win the game."