SheBelieves Cup: Jodie Taylor is a believer as England face their next big test

No one knows better than America-based striker Jodie Taylor the size of the task facing England as they prepare to take on the world’s top three nations at the She Believes Cup, being staged in Florida and Tennessee over the next week.

England kick off their campaign against world champions the USA here this evening, followed by meetings with Germany and France, who respectively sit second and third behind the Americans in Fifa’s world rankings.

The hosts, who have lost to England only once in their last 10 meetings, will get an ecstatic reception tonight at the Raymond James Stadium as they continue to milk the emotional response to their triumph at last year’s World Cup in Canada, a response witnessed at first hand by Taylor.

Sat in the team hotel overlooking Tampa Bay, she insists that England – fifth in the world rankings and bronze medalists at the World Cup – will not be fazed by either the atmosphere in the stadium or the stature of their opponents.

But the Portland Thorns striker concedes: “We couldn’t have a tougher start to the tournament. The US are a great team, who have always had fantastic backing from their fans. But the support has been lifted even higher since they won the World Cup and we’ll see that here in Tampa.

“I’ve seen it at club level because of the knock-on effect of the World Cup win. At Portland, our crowds went up to 20,000-plus after the tournament and the women’s game around the country has been booming like never before.

“It’s great to see the game in England growing and improving but I’d say it’s more intense over here. The pressure is high from the time players are only nine or 10 and they build an amazing mentality, with high motivation levels.

“But I don’t think they are technically or tactically better than us. And we certainly shouldn’t fear them, even in what’s bound to be an intimidating atmosphere, after giving them a really good game when we played them at Milton Keynes 12 months ago.”

England lost that friendly 1-0, though Taylor had a goal ruled out through what TV replays showed to be an incorrect offside decision (“I owe them one for that,” the 29-year-old Merseysider still maintains).

Mark Sampson’s team then lost 1-0 to France, who they have not beaten in 16 attempts since 1974, at the group stage of the World Cup but they went on to claim bronze with a 1-0 win against Germany – England’s first-ever victory over the Germans – in the third place play-off match.

“The French and the Germans are both brilliant teams,” says Taylor. “But that win against Germany in Canada gave a huge boost to our belief. There was probably a mental block in the past about playing Germany but that’s gone now and we believe that on our day we can beat anyone.”

Whether England can have one or more of those days in the next week will depend on more than playing ability, admits head coach Sampson. “Our players are in pre-season, so it’s hard to know where they’re at physically,” he notes. “The Americans have been playing almost non-stop since the World Cup – they’re like a club team; the French are in the middle of their domestic season and the Germans are in their mid-season break.

“So I’m not sure if we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with these teams in terms of match fitness, but what I am sure is that the players will be ready for what they know is going to be a massive challenge.”

With just four changes – one of them due to injury – from his World Cup squad, Sampson looks set to employ the same group through to next year’s European Championship finals, qualifying for which recommences next month with the visit of Belgium to Rotherham’s New York Stadium.

“This year is mainly about getting through to the Euro finals,” says the coach, “but right now our focus is purely on the She Believes Cup (the name comes from a community based initiative in the States where fans can share their goals with players). We’ll embrace it, give it a right good go and make sure that we come out of the tournament a better group and ready to kick on into Euro qualifying.”

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The inaugural edition of the four-team tournament begins in the US tonight. The hosts, Germany, France and England will compete in a round-robin tournament.

Fixtures:

Thursday, 3 March (both Tampa, Florida)

Germany v France (10pm GMT)

US v England (12.45am)

Sunday, 6 March (both Nashville)

US v France (8pm)

Germany v England (10.45pm)

Wed (both Boca Raton, Florida)

France v England (10pm)

US v Germany (12.45am)

TV Eng games on BBC1/BBCi