Ellen White is relishing the chance to play in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley on Saturday - and it’s a game that will forever rank highly in her career highlights.
The England forward has travelled to three World Cups, two European Championships and one Olympic games during her time with England but this weekend's fixture will be right up there.
White said: “We’re potentially making history if we beat the [attendance for the] USA v Japan game in 2012.
“I’m especially really proud to know so many players that have gone through amateur football, working, early gym starts, still playing for their clubs and for England... so many sacrifices.
“It’s really recognising how many people have sacrificed so many things to get to where we are, selling out Wembley.
“The fact that we’re inviting so many people and ex-players is a real celebration for them but also for us to say thanks.
“Hopefully we can continue this journey and keep the momentum going.”
White further explains that this momentous occasion is a huge thing for women’s sport as a whole.
She added: “It’s been an incredible summer, or year, for women’s sport.
“If we can keep that momentum of really putting women’s sport up there alongside men’s sport I think that’s really important.
“The amount of people that have watched different women’s sport has been incredible and if we can have a little part of projecting women’s sport into the limelight then we’re really proud of that.”
White’s inclusion in the England squad is her first since the World Cup after she has fought her way back from injury and if given the nod from Phil Neville on Saturday she’ll be overcome with emotion.
“I’ll probably be crying if I’m walking out to be honest because it’s such an amazing occasion,” she said. “You can’t help but be swept up in that emotion.
“Even at the World Cup it was emotional before walking out for games. It’s an amazing achievement to be part of a World Cup, to be walking out with people supporting you, and it’s going to be an amazing occasion with lots of family and friends there as well.
“If you’re not nervous I don’t know how you do it to be honest, so it’s going to be exciting.”
White, 30, went on to discuss how her team-mates have changed the public’s perception of the women’s game since the summer.
“Funnily enough it has been men, older men, who’ve said they prefer to watch women’s football than Coronation Street [laughs],” she said
“It’s been really nice for them to go ‘I’m completely converted, it was really easy to watch, I just clicked on the TV and it was there’.
“The passion that we showed out there, it’s great that we’ve been able to convert some fans to women’s football and to really enjoy it.
“Hopefully they’ll continue to support and follow us, come to games, and support us locally as well. That’s been a lovely thing to come back to, as much as I was obviously super gutted, it’s those things that I will hold dearly: coming back off the World Cup knowing that people changed their attitude or mindset.”
