Jade Moore believes England are gearing up for their most difficult group match at Euro 2017.
The Lionesses take on Spain on Sunday, four days after they eased to a 6-0 win over neighbours Scotland.
Jorge Vilda’s side, opened their Euro campaign with a routine 2-0 victory over Portugal on Wednesday, are one of the most improved teams in the women’s game and have risen to 13th in the FIFA rankings.
They served notice of their intentions last month when they trounced fellow finalists Belgium 7-0.
England edged Spain 2-1 in a friendly last November and Moore is fully aware of their quality.
She said: “When the draw was made we highlighted Spain as probably being our toughest game in the group stage.
“They are a very good side. If we give them a chance, like a free-kick on the edge of our area, they can punish us.
“We were 2-0 up and looking comfortable, but they got a goal back and the momentum shifted. They could have got an equaliser towards the end and we had to clear one off the line, so we know how good they are.
“But people are starting to look at us differently now. The see-saw has started to tilt and people now fear us. Hopefully that works in our favour on Sunday.”
Midfielder Moore played the full 90 minutes as England sent out a statement against Scotland.
Jodie Taylor hit a hat-trick, with Ellen White, Jordan Nobbs and Toni Duggan also getting on the scoresheet.
Moore added: “We couldn’t wait to get going and it was obviously even better to start with a great win and a positive performance.
“When you come away from a game and the game plan has come to fruition, that is a really good feeling.
“It was really nice to see what we’d been working on in training come good out on the pitch.
“There are still a few things we need to work on for the next game. A tournament has to be a learning process. We have to learn game by game.
“We can’t just settle for the performance we gave against Scotland.
“We move on and we need to make sure we’re better for the next game.”
