England Women one match away from World Cup
England 4 - 0 Holland, The Valley
A Kelly Smith hat-trick and a Rachel Yankey free-kick steered England women to a 4 - 0 win over a cowed Netherlands team at The Valley on Thursday night.
The victory took Hope Powell’s England team to within touching distance of next year’s World Cup in China, with only a tricky away fixture in France to play.
England’s chances of surpassing the disappointment of last year’s home European Championships - where they ended bottom of the group after two defeats in three games - remain alive. They go into the France game leading the qualifying group, and needing only a point to secure advancement to China 2007.
The Smith factor
Smith, a 27-year-old forward afforded a free role for England by Powell, such is her talent, has missed out on World Cup tournaments before due to injury, and England’s failure to qualify.
At Euro 2005 England were without her, and used a youthful squad which looks to be ripening into a force to be reckoned with in time for the World Cup. They remain unbeaten in qualifying, with six wins out of seven, including a 13 - 0 thrashing over Hungary away.
Powell, who was awarded an OBE for her services to women’s football in 2002, was a substitute when England were defeated by Germany in the quarter-final of Sweden 1995 - England’s sole appearance at the World Cup, and knows what it takes to compete at the highest level.
She believes that with a fit Kelly Smith, things can happen for her team. “Kelly is desperate to play in the World Cup”, Powell said after the match. “With the run of injuries she has had, I’m not sure the world has seen the best of Kelly Smith.
“Kelly, I believe, is one of the best players in the world, and she did well tonight - it goes to show the potential she has”, Powell continued.
Defeated Holland manager Vera Pauw agreed, calling Smith: “The best in the world”, and the female equivalent of Zinedine Zidane. Pauw lamented the fact that there was not a player of Smith’s quality at her disposal as her team could only muster one shot on goal, and that coming in the 88th minute. “We were totally outplayed”, said Pauw.
Totally outplayed
It took only nine minutes for Smith to open the scoring. Mary Phillip - the only current English player to have gone to the World Cup, and stand-in captain for the injured Faye White (who underwent cruciate ligament surgery on Friday, and is estimated to be out for seven to nine months) - found space after marauding forward from her centre-back position, before clipping the ball over to Smith outside the Dutch box on the right. A neat swivel left a defender wrong footed, and Smith steadied herself before rocketing the ball passed the full-stretch Dutch goalkeeper and captain, Marleen Wissink.
Holland were rocked, and the defence couldn’t cope with the cunning of Smith, the trickery of 19-year-old winger Karen Carney and the physicality of Eniola Aluko, another teenager.
After more fluent England passing, in the 23rd minute Smith found herself being held-back in the area, and England were awarded a penalty. Fara Williams - the midfield general who has scored three penalties in the qualifying campaign thus far - stepped aside as Smith placed the spot-kick in the bottom right-hand corner, sending Wissink the wrong way.
Holland managed to concede only the two goals before half-time, despite looking clueless against England’s attack. But it took only four minutes after the re-start for Smith to seal her second international hat-trick. Her run and shot, which deflected off the impressive Carney and looped over the helpless Wissink, won her the match ball, and a bottle of champagne as player of the match.
The scoring was completed in the 66th minute when Rachel Yankey managed to find the net from a direct free-kick, which Smith’s persistence had won, deep out on the right. Yankey, open-mouthed with embarrassment, trotted back to her half.
Only two years ago Holland had been able to keep within touching distance of England, but now the gulf has widened. “The way England have grown from a team that we could play against, to a top level team is unbelievable”, Pauw continued, showing a reverence toward the achievements of Hope Powell.
Powell - England women’s first female and full-time coach - remained objective in her post-match analysis. “It was a very pleasing result. The three points were paramount.
“We have to build on this to try and ensure we get the result we need in France. It’s important that we enjoy what we have achieved tonight, but it’s important that we recognise the quality of France.”
France showdown
France, who were clear-cut favourites before the qualifying campaign, will now need to beat England on 30th September in Rennes in order to qualify for China. “We are going to give it 110%, and we can’t ask for more than that. Hopefully the result will take care of itself”, Powell said.
There is a feeling that if England can keep up this momentum, perhaps they could go on and do the unthinkable and achieve World Cup success. There is the small matter of keeping the French at bay before then though. But with a fit Smith, anything is possible. As Pauw said, “if Kelly Smith is fit, England will win.”
England 4 - 0 Holland, The Valley
A Kelly Smith hat-trick and a Rachel Yankey free-kick steered England women to a 4 - 0 win over a cowed Netherlands team at The Valley on Thursday night.
The victory took Hope Powell’s England team to within touching distance of next year’s World Cup in China, with only a tricky away fixture in France to play.
England’s chances of surpassing the disappointment of last year’s home European Championships - where they ended bottom of the group after two defeats in three games - remain alive. They go into the France game leading the qualifying group, and needing only a point to secure advancement to China 2007.
The Smith factor
Smith, a 27-year-old forward afforded a free role for England by Powell, such is her talent, has missed out on World Cup tournaments before due to injury, and England’s failure to qualify.
At Euro 2005 England were without her, and used a youthful squad which looks to be ripening into a force to be reckoned with in time for the World Cup. They remain unbeaten in qualifying, with six wins out of seven, including a 13 - 0 thrashing over Hungary away.
Powell, who was awarded an OBE for her services to women’s football in 2002, was a substitute when England were defeated by Germany in the quarter-final of Sweden 1995 - England’s sole appearance at the World Cup, and knows what it takes to compete at the highest level.
She believes that with a fit Kelly Smith, things can happen for her team. “Kelly is desperate to play in the World Cup”, Powell said after the match. “With the run of injuries she has had, I’m not sure the world has seen the best of Kelly Smith.
“Kelly, I believe, is one of the best players in the world, and she did well tonight - it goes to show the potential she has”, Powell continued.
Defeated Holland manager Vera Pauw agreed, calling Smith: “The best in the world”, and the female equivalent of Zinedine Zidane. Pauw lamented the fact that there was not a player of Smith’s quality at her disposal as her team could only muster one shot on goal, and that coming in the 88th minute. “We were totally outplayed”, said Pauw.
Totally outplayed
It took only nine minutes for Smith to open the scoring. Mary Phillip - the only current English player to have gone to the World Cup, and stand-in captain for the injured Faye White (who underwent cruciate ligament surgery on Friday, and is estimated to be out for seven to nine months) - found space after marauding forward from her centre-back position, before clipping the ball over to Smith outside the Dutch box on the right. A neat swivel left a defender wrong footed, and Smith steadied herself before rocketing the ball passed the full-stretch Dutch goalkeeper and captain, Marleen Wissink.
Holland were rocked, and the defence couldn’t cope with the cunning of Smith, the trickery of 19-year-old winger Karen Carney and the physicality of Eniola Aluko, another teenager.
After more fluent England passing, in the 23rd minute Smith found herself being held-back in the area, and England were awarded a penalty. Fara Williams - the midfield general who has scored three penalties in the qualifying campaign thus far - stepped aside as Smith placed the spot-kick in the bottom right-hand corner, sending Wissink the wrong way.
Holland managed to concede only the two goals before half-time, despite looking clueless against England’s attack. But it took only four minutes after the re-start for Smith to seal her second international hat-trick. Her run and shot, which deflected off the impressive Carney and looped over the helpless Wissink, won her the match ball, and a bottle of champagne as player of the match.
The scoring was completed in the 66th minute when Rachel Yankey managed to find the net from a direct free-kick, which Smith’s persistence had won, deep out on the right. Yankey, open-mouthed with embarrassment, trotted back to her half.
Only two years ago Holland had been able to keep within touching distance of England, but now the gulf has widened. “The way England have grown from a team that we could play against, to a top level team is unbelievable”, Pauw continued, showing a reverence toward the achievements of Hope Powell.
Powell - England women’s first female and full-time coach - remained objective in her post-match analysis. “It was a very pleasing result. The three points were paramount.
“We have to build on this to try and ensure we get the result we need in France. It’s important that we enjoy what we have achieved tonight, but it’s important that we recognise the quality of France.”
France showdown
France, who were clear-cut favourites before the qualifying campaign, will now need to beat England on 30th September in Rennes in order to qualify for China. “We are going to give it 110%, and we can’t ask for more than that. Hopefully the result will take care of itself”, Powell said.
There is a feeling that if England can keep up this momentum, perhaps they could go on and do the unthinkable and achieve World Cup success. There is the small matter of keeping the French at bay before then though. But with a fit Smith, anything is possible. As Pauw said, “if Kelly Smith is fit, England will win.”
Labels: England, Football World Cup, Holland, Hope Powell, Kelly Smith
