Phil Neville says England need to get themselves into “World Cup mode” as this summer’s trip to France draws closer.
The Lionesses picked up a 2-1 win over Spain in the second of their Road to France Series on Tuesday night following on from last week’s defeat to Canada.
Goals from Beth Mead and Ellen White secured the victory in Swindon, after Neville had made nine changes to his team as he looks at his options for June.
“I’ve rotated and given everyone a chance now, so it’s time to get into World Cup mode,” said Neville after the game.
“The players have been unbelievable over the last 14 months and they deserve to end with a win.
“Spain dominated at the start and we stood off them, but then we started to play in their half more.
“I wanted us to play on the front foot, with a bit of composure in the final third which we didn’t have against Canada, but today we were happy with it.”
There were periods of the match which Neville wasn’t completely happy with, including how they ended the match with Spain chasing an equaliser.
But he also revealed he wanted to see how his players would deal with such a scenario, which they may face again at the World Cup.
“We made that many changes, and changes in the second half, that we lost our rhythm,” he admits.
“But I made the changes because I wanted us to see out a game.
“If you get to a quarter or semi-final, you’re not just going to win games easily, you’ve got to see them out and I wanted to see how we were going to cope.
“I was a little disappointed with our composure in the second half. I think we had one movement where we got our rhythm but it’s the end of the road.
“I’ve said to them, ‘this isn’t a trial’. I’ve seen enough of these players over the last 14 months to know what they can do.
“So whether it’s a bad pass, a bad performance or a goal given away, I was never going to judge them on tonight. I trust them and I care for them. I want them to go out there and play with no fear.
“It’s been a long journey and now we can concentrate on going to France.”
England have two more games on their Road to France Series, against Denmark and New Zealand next month. Tickets are on sale now.
