Alex Greenwood ignores World Cup group permutations

Tuesday 16 Jun 2015
Alex Greenwood in World Cup action against Mexico

There are many different permutations that would see England advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup, but ahead of the final group match, Alex Greenwood is only looking for one outcome – a win.

The Lionesses will take on Colombia in Montreal on Wednesday knowing they can make it through to the last 16 with a win or a draw. A defeat might not be the end of their Canada 2015 campaign either, as long as other results go their way.

They are second in Group F on three points and the top two in each of the six groups are guaranteed to progress. There is a possibility England could be one of the four best third-placed teams that will complete the last-16 line-up.

England v Colombia

FIFA Women's World Cup 2015
Group F
9pm BST, Wednesday 17 June
Olympic Stadium, Montreal
Live on BBC Three

But Greenwood believes her team-mates are more than capable of picking up all three points at the Olympic Stadium.

The 21-year-old said: "We know we might still go through with a draw but we’re England and we want to win. We want to top the group.

"We’re a confident team. We have no reason to be nervous about this game. If we do what we’ve been doing and stick to our game plan I think we will win the game.

"We have to give Colombia credit. They are good going forward and they have got some very good players.

"But so have we. We want to exploit their weaknesses and stop them doing what they do well.

Alex Greenwood

Greenwood has earned 14 England caps after making her debut in March 

"There’s no need to panic. We’re in a good place."

Greenwood sat out the opening-day defeat by France, but made an impact as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s win over Mexico.

The left-back came on for Claire Rafferty to make her World Cup debut.

And she took less than half-an-hour to stamp her authority on the game, delivering a pinpoint cross for Karen Carney to head home England’s second goal.

Greenwood added: "Mark [Sampson, England’s head coach] gave me a job to do when I came on and thankfully it worked.

"I enjoy playing under pressure. I don’t know if that’s just because I’m young, but having experienced players around me like Casey and Steph helps me a lot.

"I’m really enjoying being at this World Cup. Hopefully we are in it for few more weeks."

By Glenn Lavery in Montreal, Canada