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Football Show, two days until kick-off at Euro 2013, and England | :00:38. | :00:45. | |
are ready. Runners-up last time, can hope | :00:45. | :00:51. | |
how's lionesses go one better this time? Will Sweden thrive on the | :00:51. | :00:57. | |
expectation of a nation? We investigate the ongoing controversy | :00:57. | :01:03. | |
surrounding Doncaster's demotion. And, the FA celebrates 20 years of | :01:03. | :01:08. | |
running women's football with Kick Off Your Career. | :01:08. | :01:11. | |
I am delighted to say we have a wealth of international experience | :01:11. | :01:20. | |
this evening, 183 caps tween Faye White and Sue Smith. It is with the | :01:20. | :01:27. | |
current team that we begin, hope Powell's team have arrived in Sweden | :01:27. | :01:28. | |
to go one better than four years ago. | :01:28. | :01:36. | |
You have to go into a tournament thinking you are capable of winning. | :01:36. | :01:42. | |
I have visualised it, I have dreamt about it. We think we can go far. | :01:42. | :01:49. | |
have got to prove we are good enough. The belief is there. We can | :01:49. | :01:55. | |
excite the nation. We can play against the best teams in Europe. | :01:55. | :02:00. | |
Our ambition is to do as well as we possibly can, we know that we got to | :02:00. | :02:06. | |
the final in 2009. Maybe we were happy with just getting to the | :02:06. | :02:12. | |
final, we did not really believe we could win. We have to win every | :02:12. | :02:17. | |
match if we want to get to the final and when. We have got to face our | :02:17. | :02:22. | |
opposition first, Spain, Russia and France, all hard games, so we will | :02:22. | :02:28. | |
have to be on top form. Spain are a fantastic team, people would not tip | :02:28. | :02:34. | |
them as favourites, but they play fantastic football, it is difficult | :02:34. | :02:39. | |
to play them against, that is why we played Japan in a warmup game. | :02:39. | :02:48. | |
Russia, very disciplined, they are a tournament team. We went 2-0 down in | :02:48. | :02:57. | |
2009, we came back to win 3-2, so we know we can beat them. We played | :02:57. | :03:03. | |
France in November, it was a tough game. We have got a lot of players | :03:03. | :03:12. | |
who play with each other every week. It will be a tough test. Up until we | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
lost to Sweden, we were doing OK. They are a good side, the home | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
nation, but we did not play how we can play. If we had done things | :03:21. | :03:27. | |
differently, we could have beaten them. If we had not lost against | :03:27. | :03:31. | |
them, would have thought we were fine, and we could be comfortable, | :03:31. | :03:41. | |
:03:41. | :03:41. | ||
but perhaps this is a humbling experience. The fact that we were in | :03:41. | :03:47. | |
the WSL season, you are bound to pick up injuries, unfortunately. | :03:47. | :03:52. | |
That is what you have a squad of 23. We are not the only squad that have | :03:52. | :03:58. | |
had severe injuries, we are fortunate that our injuries seem to | :03:58. | :04:04. | |
be ending. She can look at the bench and put any player on and know that | :04:04. | :04:09. | |
they can do a job. We have five women's international teams now, | :04:09. | :04:16. | |
there is more quality, the fact we have got eight teams in the top WSL | :04:16. | :04:18. | |
division means that the competition is tough, and that helps the | :04:18. | :04:26. | |
international team. Hopefully, we will gain fans, football fans. | :04:26. | :04:33. | |
People who enjoy watching good football. There are some serious | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
contenders, and I would like to think we are one of them. There is | :04:37. | :04:42. | |
no bigger honour than playing for England. We will battle for | :04:42. | :04:46. | |
everything, we will give 100%. is what we show when we play | :04:46. | :04:53. | |
football, character and effort, to do England proud. We will give | :04:53. | :04:59. | |
absolutely everything we have got to get results, because we want to win. | :04:59. | :05:09. | |
Confirmation of England's opponents. How are they going to do? I think | :05:09. | :05:16. | |
they have got a good chance. They have got a strong squad. My only | :05:16. | :05:20. | |
concern is the injuries, and a lot of key players are injured, will | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
they be fit enough to play? They have got a chance of progressing | :05:25. | :05:29. | |
onto the next stage, but we have got to believe in England. If all of the | :05:29. | :05:37. | |
players are fit, but the star player is Kelly Smith, she is struggling. | :05:37. | :05:43. | |
Yes, she has always had a lot of injuries, and it is not the first | :05:43. | :05:47. | |
time she is coming back from an injury, but she is experienced, you | :05:47. | :05:54. | |
would want her in your squad even if she is only 50% fit. She can score | :05:54. | :06:00. | |
top quality goals. The other thing, the opposition fear her, she can | :06:00. | :06:07. | |
produce moments of magic. But now, another benefit, the team can play | :06:07. | :06:13. | |
without her, so maybe as an impact player. They will have to, at least | :06:13. | :06:19. | |
to start with. Who else can score the goals? Is a team wants to | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
progress, you need to have goals from everywhere, and England have | :06:23. | :06:30. | |
Fara Williams, she can score from long distance, also, Ellen White, | :06:30. | :06:35. | |
who made an impact in the World Cup, she scored against Japan, and she | :06:35. | :06:42. | |
has got better and better, she is scoring goals in the WSL. There are | :06:42. | :06:46. | |
lots of players that can score goals, the second one is any Loko, a | :06:46. | :06:56. | |
:06:56. | :06:57. | ||
fantastic layer. -- Eniola Aluko. She can finish. We have seen | :06:57. | :07:02. | |
different finishes through the WSL. A fantastic player. Ten, Toni | :07:02. | :07:08. | |
Duggan, she has got youth on her side, natural ability, she | :07:08. | :07:13. | |
pressurises really well. She has got no fear. She can be an impact | :07:13. | :07:20. | |
player. She could come on and change the game and hopefully then start | :07:20. | :07:25. | |
later in the tournament. Somebody with plenty of experience, Rachel | :07:25. | :07:30. | |
Yankey made history with her 120th cap against Japan. Could she be the | :07:30. | :07:38. | |
big figure? Experience is key, she has played a lot, and I would like | :07:38. | :07:45. | |
to contribute to the goals a bit bowl. She can supply them. This is | :07:45. | :07:53. | |
her record, their 126th cap. An inch perfect pass for Eniola Aluko. It is | :07:53. | :07:59. | |
being able to CD-ROMs and put the ball in the danger area. She can be | :07:59. | :08:04. | |
a key figure. They drew against Japan. But they got hammered by | :08:04. | :08:11. | |
Sweden. What will they have learned? They have to learn from it, | :08:11. | :08:14. | |
they have to take the positives and negatives. They looked disorganised, | :08:14. | :08:21. | |
which is not normally England. But Sweden did press them really high, | :08:21. | :08:26. | |
they caused problems. Their physicality was a difficulty for | :08:26. | :08:30. | |
England. They need to learn from that, especially when they play | :08:30. | :08:37. | |
Russia. But they can learn from games like this. This is something | :08:37. | :08:42. | |
that they will have looked at, the players will have looked at it, | :08:42. | :08:48. | |
individually and collectively. It is something they can take on into | :08:48. | :08:52. | |
their first game against Spain, it is just good it did not happen in | :08:52. | :08:56. | |
the first game. There are a number of players who have either been | :08:56. | :09:04. | |
injured or who are not match fit. Is that a big concern? What effect will | :09:04. | :09:11. | |
that have against Spain? There are six players that have had injuries. | :09:11. | :09:17. | |
Karen Carney and Kelly Smith are the long-term injuries. But Steph | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
Houghton, Casey Stoney, they played against Sweden, they have got time | :09:21. | :09:28. | |
under their belt, and they were able to overcome their injuries. We have | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
had players before that have had injuries. The experience and ability | :09:33. | :09:39. | |
to play over those injuries, that is what you do as a player to play in a | :09:39. | :09:46. | |
major tournament. England get under way against Spain on Friday night. | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
We will also have the best of the action from the other match in the | :09:50. | :09:55. | |
group, between France and Russia. More from the England camp shortly. | :09:55. | :10:00. | |
Now, the story that has polarised women's football. One week into the | :10:00. | :10:06. | |
WSL season, Doncaster received a phone call to say they were being | :10:06. | :10:08. | |
demoted to the new second division for the following season because | :10:08. | :10:13. | |
they have failed the new entry criteria for the first division. The | :10:13. | :10:17. | |
club appealed, but nine days ago the appeal was rejected by an | :10:17. | :10:22. | |
independent panel. Manchester City will take their place in the top | :10:22. | :10:32. | |
:10:32. | :10:38. | ||
division. What next for one of the Doncaster have been in the top | :10:38. | :10:43. | |
flight of women's football for 22 years. They have won the FA women's | :10:43. | :10:48. | |
cup six times, the old FA women's Premier League twice, and between | :10:48. | :10:55. | |
1978 and 1993 they only lost one league match. The FA's new game | :10:55. | :11:00. | |
changer initiative has put new standards in place to strengthen the | :11:00. | :11:05. | |
women's game, but Doncaster is a community club with minimal | :11:05. | :11:10. | |
resources, and they have struggled to meet the new criteria. The | :11:10. | :11:14. | |
reaction to the decision to demote them has been fierce, and the | :11:14. | :11:18. | |
headlines do not make comfortable reading for the FA. The feeling in | :11:18. | :11:23. | |
Doncaster is one of shock and disappointment. Gutted, devastated, | :11:23. | :11:28. | |
difficult to take. 44 years of heritage does not give you a divine | :11:29. | :11:35. | |
right to be there, from a respect point of view, some are relative, we | :11:35. | :11:40. | |
have been treated badly, playing on a pitch, promotion, allegation, that | :11:40. | :11:46. | |
is what sport, we believed, was about. To tell the team after one | :11:46. | :11:52. | |
game, it is criminal. It is so difficult to pick the players and | :11:52. | :11:59. | |
staff up. But credit to them, they have done great. They are quite | :11:59. | :12:05. | |
strong minded. The FA have defended their position, with a 38 page legal | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
summary and this statement. The decision by the selection panel not | :12:09. | :12:16. | |
to offer them a licence was due to them primarily being unable to | :12:16. | :12:21. | |
satisfactory meet minimum requirements, alongside further | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
concerns on their commercial and marketing strategies. Doncaster | :12:25. | :12:29. | |
continued to maintain their facilities are up to scratch, and | :12:29. | :12:35. | |
they can fulfil the fixture list. But at this stage, their position in | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
the second division is not even confirmed, because according to the | :12:38. | :12:44. | |
FA, they still have criteria to meet. They have finished next to | :12:44. | :12:48. | |
bottom in the two seasons since the WSL was formed and have struggled | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
this season under the cloud of the FA decision. But the club are | :12:52. | :12:57. | |
determined they have a positive future to look forward to. You take | :12:57. | :13:01. | |
the hit, and you continue on the football field. The 4th of August, | :13:01. | :13:06. | |
we play Chelsea. We will put our heart and soul into not finishing | :13:06. | :13:11. | |
bottom, if ever there was a challenge to fit -- to prove | :13:11. | :13:18. | |
somebody wrong, that would be it. just got on with it. We went to the | :13:18. | :13:23. | |
appeal, we hope something could happen, it has not, so we are not | :13:23. | :13:27. | |
going to labour on the fact that it has gone against us. We just have to | :13:27. | :13:37. | |
:13:37. | :13:37. | ||
get ourselves ready for what is next. I'm joined by Kelly Symond s | :13:37. | :13:46. | |
of the FA. One of the main criteria is the facility, but they play where | :13:46. | :13:49. | |
Doncaster Rovers play. The problem with the women's club have is the | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
access to it. This season they've been the forth priority on the pitch | :13:53. | :13:58. | |
after the men's football club, rugby and other events. It's led to | :13:58. | :14:03. | |
problems with fixtures as well as the quality of the pitch. | :14:03. | :14:06. | |
Unfortunately Doncaster Belles through the application process | :14:06. | :14:10. | |
weren't able to satisfy the FA that would improve. It's so important | :14:10. | :14:15. | |
because the FA and the clubs signed up to delivering semi- | :14:15. | :14:20. | |
semi-professional women's football. For the first time we have two major | :14:20. | :14:23. | |
broadcast deals with the BBC and BT sport. We're moving to regular | :14:23. | :14:26. | |
coverage. It's essential that we lock down the fixtures and encourage | :14:26. | :14:33. | |
fans to come to the game and deliver the league. Something that they are | :14:33. | :14:37. | |
unhappy about is the lack of communication during the process, so | :14:37. | :14:41. | |
they knew they weren't on the right track at the time. Of course the | :14:42. | :14:45. | |
timing, being told after first game. Do you have regrets about how you | :14:45. | :14:49. | |
could have done something differently? We don't actually, | :14:49. | :14:52. | |
because communication, they've never really raised the issue of | :14:52. | :14:55. | |
communication. All of the clubs were aware of the process an the time | :14:55. | :14:58. | |
lines. We delivered to those. I personally rang Doncaster before the | :14:58. | :15:03. | |
decision came out to explain to them what the result was and why they | :15:03. | :15:11. | |
hadn't achieved WSL1 status. From the outside it looks strange, but | :15:11. | :15:15. | |
the women's Super League plays across the summer. The rest of | :15:15. | :15:19. | |
women's football plays across the winter. The women's Super League has | :15:19. | :15:26. | |
been closed off with no relegation. We will open that up from 2014. We | :15:26. | :15:30. | |
can take ten teams from the winter pyramid to make up the Super League. | :15:31. | :15:34. | |
Those new clubs have to come out of the women's leagues now, this | :15:34. | :15:39. | |
summer, they can't play in 13/14 because they need to be ready for | :15:39. | :15:43. | |
the Super League kicking off in March next year. It is an anomaly. | :15:43. | :15:47. | |
It is a one-off situation. Because from now, with the second division, | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
it will be about promotion and relegation subject to meeting | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
license criteria. There's been quite a back lash to the decision. I'm | :15:54. | :15:59. | |
sure that you're aware, throughout the media, a lot of people | :15:59. | :16:04. | |
criticising the FA. Doncaster have been in the top flight for many | :16:05. | :16:09. | |
years. People are upset that they've been relegated for non-fooling ever | :16:09. | :16:14. | |
footballing -- footballing reasons. Can you understand the backlash? Of | :16:14. | :16:18. | |
course I can. I would say that the backlash has been because it's been | :16:18. | :16:22. | |
portrayed the decision is about money. It isn't. There are women's | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
clubs in Super League one and two who don't have men's club backing, | :16:25. | :16:29. | |
but have really good local partnerships and are able to deliver | :16:29. | :16:36. | |
the cry tierament Bristol academy is probably -- criteria. Bristol | :16:36. | :16:41. | |
academy is the most impressive one. I feel sorry for Manchester City. | :16:41. | :16:48. | |
They were one of 33 clubs that applied for a place, had a really | :16:48. | :16:52. | |
strong place and they are only doing what we have been asking men's clubs | :16:52. | :16:57. | |
to do, invest in women's football. Difficult was this decision to take? | :16:57. | :17:00. | |
I think it was difficult. The toughest thing for us was the timing | :17:00. | :17:04. | |
of it. We had gone through the preseason. I had come back from | :17:04. | :17:08. | |
injury. There was a buzz around the club about playing. When we found | :17:08. | :17:13. | |
out that we were going to be in WSL2 no mat whaer we did in the league, | :17:13. | :17:19. | |
that was hard from a players' performative. It's the motivation. | :17:19. | :17:23. | |
Thankfully we have a group of fantastic individuals and they're | :17:23. | :17:28. | |
strong characters. We will battle through. I think our aim now is to | :17:28. | :17:34. | |
probably not finish bottom. That's what we're focussed on. If Donny win | :17:34. | :17:38. | |
WSL2 next year, then as things stand, they won't be promoted if | :17:38. | :17:42. | |
they still don't match the criteria. Will you work with them in | :17:42. | :17:47. | |
particular to help them to match the criteria? Yeah, it's in all our | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
interests to make sure that all the clubs can meet the criteria so | :17:52. | :17:56. | |
whoever wins can go up. If they don't meet the criteria they | :17:56. | :17:59. | |
won't be able to go up. That's similar to men's football, where | :18:00. | :18:04. | |
across national league systems you have clubs that can't go up because | :18:04. | :18:08. | |
of facilities. We will work all the clubs and our facilities team are | :18:08. | :18:12. | |
working with them to find solutions to the problems that they have got. | :18:12. | :18:16. | |
Very much. We'll keep you updated on all developments with Doncaster and | :18:16. | :18:25. | |
the WSL when the Women's Football Show returns after the Euros. Now to | :18:25. | :18:35. | |
:18:35. | :18:48. | ||
Sweden's -- England's base camp in Linkoping, I didn't think I would | :18:48. | :18:53. | |
ever come back, so when they announced that the Linkoping would | :18:53. | :19:02. | |
be one of the venues, it was OK. It adds an element of comfort. It's a | :19:02. | :19:07. | |
bit slower, the pace of life here. Everyone's kind of relaxed. I really | :19:07. | :19:12. | |
enjoy that. It's a beautiful town, very natural, very green. People | :19:12. | :19:16. | |
really embrace that. Loads of people just go and hang out in parks. They | :19:16. | :19:23. | |
embrace their culture as well. There's quite a few museums around. | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
I enjoyed the original town, this old town Linkoping. You go there and | :19:27. | :19:33. | |
you just go back hundreds of years. I'm a fan of antiquity. I feel like | :19:33. | :19:38. | |
I can appreciate it. I like learning the history of towns and I'm kind of | :19:38. | :19:46. | |
a nerd that way. My favourite part of the cathedral is that you could | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
basically see it from anywhere in town. If you caught it at the right | :19:49. | :19:55. | |
moment in the evening, the sun would catch the clock face really nicely. | :19:55. | :19:59. | |
It just would light up the surrounding area. It was very | :19:59. | :20:04. | |
pretty. When I first came, we went to go and break the ground, so it's | :20:04. | :20:11. | |
been amazing to see it go from being a lot of dirt to the stadium that it | :20:11. | :20:17. | |
is today. It looks like it's going to be a great venue. And a really | :20:17. | :20:23. | |
nice, intimate theary foo. I'm -- atmosphere. I'm looking to seeing | :20:23. | :20:29. | |
the things in the blueprint that I was told was going to happen. | :20:29. | :20:34. | |
England are going to be spending a lot of time in Linkoping. Let's hope | :20:34. | :20:39. | |
there's plenty to do. The mini golf is good apparently! How much of a | :20:39. | :20:43. | |
benefit is it being in one town? three teams are in the same city. | :20:43. | :20:46. | |
The good thing is that it reduces the amount of travel if you get | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
further in the competition, but for a player, it's good to go through | :20:50. | :20:54. | |
the same pre-match routines, to be familiar with the stadium you're | :20:54. | :20:58. | |
going to. If you play well, if you have a good result in the first | :20:58. | :21:02. | |
game, you often play well in the second game. Some of the players | :21:02. | :21:05. | |
will go stir crazy in the same city and with not having a change of | :21:05. | :21:09. | |
scenery. I think as far as the logistics and the practical sense | :21:09. | :21:19. | |
:21:19. | :21:22. | ||
it's a positive. Will go mad? Williams, jil Scott, Rachel Yankey. | :21:22. | :21:26. | |
They could stay in Linkoping but they would have to win the group. | :21:26. | :21:29. | |
France will be the most difficult game I would say. They are a tough | :21:29. | :21:34. | |
team. They're a team that we have played before and obviously, we went | :21:34. | :21:39. | |
2-0 up in this game against France, so you think fantastic the way that | :21:39. | :21:43. | |
we created chances. They can take positives from that and confidence | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
from that. We did change the team around a bit and obviously France | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
came back into it, as we know they can. The game ended 2-2. That was | :21:50. | :21:55. | |
probably disappointing, the fact that you've gone 2-0 up against a | :21:55. | :21:58. | |
fantastic team. If you keep that result it's a massive confidence | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
boost. As a team you have to forget past results and look to this. As we | :22:02. | :22:07. | |
know there's a lot of very good players in France, especial | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
especially the very talented player that can create and score a lot of | :22:12. | :22:16. | |
goals. A lot of them are fulltime professional in the French league | :22:16. | :22:19. | |
and Champions League final as well. Spain are the first team that | :22:19. | :22:23. | |
England play. Now, you know full well that they're not very happy | :22:23. | :22:27. | |
with England because you personally helped deny them a place in the last | :22:27. | :22:30. | |
World Cup. England have denied them a European place as well. That's | :22:31. | :22:36. | |
right. I scored the equaliser in the World Cup qualifiers, a draw it | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
turned out but we went through having secured more goals, I think. | :22:40. | :22:44. | |
If the Euros as well, leading the last 2009 we went through rather | :22:44. | :22:49. | |
than them. They will feel that they were close to beating up and taking | :22:49. | :22:54. | |
that spot instead of us. They did well against Scotland to come back. | :22:54. | :23:02. | |
It was 3-2 in the final game, score scoring 122nd-minute winner after | :23:02. | :23:10. | |
having a pen at toy. They will take that into -- having a penalty. | :23:10. | :23:14. | |
about the Russians? They are physical. We struggled with that. | :23:14. | :23:18. | |
Hopefully we've learned from that and can go into the Russia game more | :23:18. | :23:21. | |
physical. We have players that can do that. We seem to play well | :23:22. | :23:26. | |
against the nice, footballing teams - Spain, Brazil and Japan. Hopefully | :23:26. | :23:31. | |
we can get our physical game in. Away from England's group, who else | :23:31. | :23:35. | |
could win? Sweden have home advantage and our roving reporter | :23:35. | :23:39. | |
will be Tina Daheley. She's been assessing their chance was a striker | :23:39. | :23:43. | |
who lives and works in London. One of the favourites to win this | :23:43. | :23:47. | |
summer's European champion shops are hosts Sweden and a player hoping to | :23:47. | :23:51. | |
lead the attack made her international debut against England | :23:51. | :23:57. | |
in 2011. Now playing for Chelsea in the WSL, Sofia Jakobsson lives a | :23:57. | :24:07. | |
:24:07. | :24:10. | ||
stone's throw from the I have been playing a lot of a big | :24:10. | :24:14. | |
turnaments. To score in the Olympics was really good. It was a lot of | :24:14. | :24:18. | |
people watching. To score was amazing. I feel I'm not new in this. | :24:18. | :24:21. | |
I feel I will go in there with a good experience and with a good | :24:21. | :24:25. | |
confidence and help the team as much as I can. Yeah, I think we will be a | :24:25. | :24:29. | |
tough team. We are at home. It's important that we show people who | :24:29. | :24:33. | |
are coming to watch our games that we want to win this tournament. We | :24:33. | :24:42. | |
are organised and we have good players. Hopefully we will score | :24:42. | :24:51. | |
goals. You have a very experienced coach who led the US to a World Cup | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
final and Olympic gold last year. What's it been like working with | :24:54. | :25:00. | |
her? Yeah, I'm really happy with her. Now her coming in the team with | :25:00. | :25:05. | |
a lot of energy. She has new eyes on every player. She wants to bring in | :25:05. | :25:09. | |
new players. I think it putses pressure on the ones who have been a | :25:09. | :25:13. | |
long time in the national team. face your neighbours Denmark in the | :25:13. | :25:17. | |
opening fixture. How much of a threat will they be? I know Denmark | :25:17. | :25:21. | |
is a really good team. I think it will be a hard game because, of | :25:21. | :25:26. | |
course, we want to win and I know they want to win against us. So I | :25:26. | :25:30. | |
think it's a really important game for us to start well in the | :25:30. | :25:36. | |
tournament. I know Italy, football is more technical and Finland is | :25:36. | :25:39. | |
more physical team. But I think we will not have a problem against | :25:39. | :25:45. | |
them. We are also physical. I think it's more important to focus on our | :25:45. | :25:49. | |
game. Have you dreamt of scoring the winner in the final? Yeah, of | :25:49. | :25:54. | |
course, you always do that. Like a striker, you always want to score. | :25:54. | :25:58. | |
If you can score a winning goal in the final, it's like the best thing | :25:58. | :26:04. | |
you can do in your life. So confirmation of Sweden's | :26:04. | :26:10. | |
opponents in Group A: Italy, Finland and Denmark first up. So Sweden have | :26:10. | :26:13. | |
home advantage, Sue, with that comes plenty of pressure as well. Do you | :26:13. | :26:18. | |
see them as genuine contenders to win? I didn't a few months back and | :26:18. | :26:22. | |
recently I've watched their form and they seem to be getting better and | :26:22. | :26:26. | |
better. They're peaking at the right time. For me, it's the manager. She | :26:26. | :26:31. | |
seems to have them playing for her. I think that's a massive benefit. | :26:31. | :26:35. | |
The fact that against England they look sharp. They looked ready. | :26:35. | :26:40. | |
They're not even thinking about the pressure. I think they're going into | :26:40. | :26:42. | |
the tournament expecting to win. She's brought in the winning | :26:42. | :26:45. | |
mentality from being the American manager, used to winning games. | :26:45. | :26:49. | |
She's brought that and seems to instilled that into her players. | :26:49. | :26:54. | |
won Olympic gold at Wembley last summer. Sweden versus Denmark kicks | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
off our live coverage of the tournament this Wednesday, from 7pm | :26:59. | :27:05. | |
on BBC Three. Also highlights of Italy versus Finland. Today's the | :27:05. | :27:07. | |
Football Association's 20th anniversary of running women's | :27:07. | :27:12. | |
football. To celebrate the FA have launched Kick Off Your Career to | :27:12. | :27:16. | |
inspire young women and girls to work in our national game. Not so | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
long ago, it was difficult for a woman to have a career in football. | :27:21. | :27:25. | |
In 1972, England's first official international took place against | :27:25. | :27:30. | |
Scotland on an icy pitch. It had been more than 50 years since the FA | :27:30. | :27:35. | |
had banned women from playing on its clubs' grounds deeming the game | :27:35. | :27:39. | |
unsuitable for girls. England were 2-0 down. | :27:39. | :27:44. | |
COMMENTATOR: all eyes on number eight. Sylvia Gore started the fight | :27:44. | :27:49. | |
back with her country's first ever international goal. England won | :27:49. | :27:57. | |
3-26789 Sylvia has had a long -- 3-1. Sylvia has had a long career. | :27:57. | :28:02. | |
I've had special achievement awards, a trophy named after me. The FA have | :28:02. | :28:07. | |
given me awards. I was on the role of honour at my local authority with | :28:07. | :28:12. | |
Steven Gerrard and Peter Reid. Sylvia's story has beenlet exception | :28:12. | :28:16. | |
with many women of her era and beyond dropping out of the game. To | :28:16. | :28:19. | |
celebrate the 20th anniversary of taking over the running of women's | :28:19. | :28:22. | |
football, the FA have launched Kick Off Your Career, show casing 20 | :28:22. | :28:26. | |
women working in the game, who the FA hope will inspire a new | :28:26. | :28:29. | |
FA hope will inspire a new generation. I don't think you can | :28:29. | :28:34. | |
beat match day and that environment. That's what it's about, about | :28:34. | :28:37. | |
getting the players ready to perform getting the players ready to perform | :28:37. | :28:47. | |
:28:47. | :28:49. | ||
getting the players ready to perform in the game. | :28:49. | :28:55. | |
I say, this is the environment we try to create as players. I work at | :28:55. | :29:02. | |
Norwich, that small bit of funding we put in makes a massive | :29:02. | :29:08. | |
difference, it gives them somewhere to be, to be like everyone else and | :29:08. | :29:14. | |
to be part of it. It is something I dream golf from a kid, playing in | :29:14. | :29:20. | |
the World Cup. The famous gifted boot of Kelly Smith has done the | :29:20. | :29:28. | |
business! I won a silver medal in Finland in 2009. That is the only | :29:28. | :29:35. | |
medal I have one, playing for England, so it is special. A lot of | :29:35. | :29:39. | |
young people from 15 to 19 are dropping out, and for me, it can be | :29:39. | :29:44. | |
a tough sell, particularly to some females, about trying to get | :29:44. | :29:49. | |
involved, because they think it is for boys or they do not want to get | :29:49. | :29:57. | |
hot and sweaty on their lunch break. I am on call 24 hours a day. In a | :29:57. | :30:02. | |
tournament situation, every second counts. It's a fine line between | :30:02. | :30:09. | |
being superfit and super healthy and being injured, unfortunately. | :30:09. | :30:12. | |
have heard from some of the top women in the industry, and you do | :30:12. | :30:15. | |
not have to be playing football to be part of it. | :30:15. | :30:20. | |
Get involved! You can find out more about Kick Off Your Career on the FA | :30:20. | :30:28. | |
website. Sylvia taught you all do know. I am so glad she is getting | :30:28. | :30:35. | |
recognition, what an inspirational woman. She told me about that goal | :30:35. | :30:41. | |
so many times, what a great goal! Really pleased for her. It is time | :30:42. | :30:50. | |
to focus on group the of Euro 2013, and the Liverpool and Icelandic | :30:50. | :30:53. | |
midfielder Katrin Omarsdottir is hoping to carry her good form into | :30:53. | :31:03. | |
:31:03. | :31:08. | ||
For Liverpool, I have been playing holding midfield, simple, winning | :31:08. | :31:16. | |
the midfield battle. I have got good passes, good in the air. Physical. | :31:16. | :31:24. | |
With the national team, I have more of a role creatively. I have got it | :31:24. | :31:32. | |
all, I think! Playing for Liverpool and coming from winning a lot of | :31:32. | :31:37. | |
games will hopefully help my mentality, going into Euro 2013. For | :31:37. | :31:47. | |
Iceland as a nation, we are up for any challenge. We have got the | :31:47. | :31:51. | |
attitude that we can beat anyone. We are quite a physical team, we fight | :31:51. | :31:58. | |
until the end. It can be hard to break us down. Not this year, but it | :31:58. | :32:03. | |
has been in the past. We will hopefully find it again. We never | :32:03. | :32:09. | |
quit, we rely on counterattacking. The players to watch, the | :32:09. | :32:19. | |
:32:19. | :32:21. | ||
goalkeeper, the centre back, and our top goal-scorer can hopefully get | :32:21. | :32:27. | |
some goals for us. In our group, Germany, Holland and Norway. It is a | :32:27. | :32:34. | |
difficult group. All tough teams. Norway has done well, we beat them | :32:34. | :32:42. | |
in Iceland and then lost in Norway. To play them in the tournament, it | :32:42. | :32:51. | |
will be a good fight. Germany are a great team. Holland... It is all | :32:51. | :32:55. | |
good teams, we just have to do our best. On a good day, we can beat any | :32:55. | :33:02. | |
team. We want to make our country proud, so hopefully we can battle. | :33:02. | :33:08. | |
Success is being able to go home and know we did our best. And go home | :33:08. | :33:12. | |
with no regrets. Iceland are the underdogs in the | :33:12. | :33:19. | |
group, alongside the former champions Norway, the Netherlands | :33:19. | :33:24. | |
and the mighty Germans, going for their sixth straight title. You | :33:24. | :33:27. | |
expect them to replace their missing players and march on to the next | :33:27. | :33:34. | |
title. Many teams would struggle, missing six key players, but they | :33:34. | :33:42. | |
bring through the youngsters. They have such a strong squad. A great | :33:42. | :33:51. | |
striker, who seems to be taking over the mantle. 17 goals in qualifying. | :33:51. | :33:54. | |
They have confidence, great experience, winning trophies along | :33:54. | :34:01. | |
the way. I see them coming out of their group comfortably. 17 goals | :34:01. | :34:06. | |
from one player! Germany are the firm favourites to win the group, | :34:06. | :34:16. | |
:34:16. | :34:23. | ||
they have not lost a game at the Germans last lost a match at this | :34:23. | :34:28. | |
tournament, but it is very much part of everyday life for a player. We | :34:28. | :34:33. | |
have entered into the England hotel as Toni Duggan and Alex Scott took | :34:33. | :34:43. | |
:34:43. | :34:48. | ||
time out to take part in a live Q&A OK, it seems as though we are off. | :34:48. | :34:56. | |
Who are you most looking forward to playing? The first game, Spain. | :34:56. | :35:00. | |
Wattage your favourite tournament you have played in? The World Cup, | :35:00. | :35:08. | |
2011, the crowds in Germany, the whole buzz around women's football. | :35:08. | :35:12. | |
The under 19 European Championships, because we won. Is this more nerve | :35:12. | :35:21. | |
wracking than being on the pitch? Gel has got the best banter. They | :35:21. | :35:31. | |
:35:31. | :35:31. | ||
have made up a song for us. The Addams family theme. Duggan and | :35:31. | :35:39. | |
Scott! It is going to be stuck in my head! Who has the worst dress | :35:39. | :35:49. | |
:35:49. | :35:49. | ||
sense? Who can we stitch up? ! Stoney! I am sure you could give her | :35:49. | :35:57. | |
a make over! We have got new questions. What is the team morale | :35:57. | :36:04. | |
like? It is the best it has ever been, the team is one United group. | :36:04. | :36:08. | |
Have you practised penalties? Of course, we want to be the best | :36:08. | :36:18. | |
prepared we can be. Katie has got back to us! She says, excuse me, | :36:18. | :36:24. | |
white and I getting battered on this? ! Save the best till last! | :36:24. | :36:29. | |
What is the most exciting prospect of playing in a tournament? The | :36:29. | :36:39. | |
:36:39. | :36:40. | ||
chance to win a medal. Our famous song... Duggan and Scott! | :36:40. | :36:46. | |
If you want to get involved, send us your tweets. Or you can visit the | :36:46. | :36:56. | |
:36:56. | :37:00. | ||
Facebook site. Who will win the tournament? Over to you! I will go | :37:00. | :37:05. | |
for Germany, but I think France will have a good chance as well. | :37:05. | :37:15. | |
:37:15. | :37:17. | ||
England's group! What about. Course is? I wanted to take a dark horse! I | :37:17. | :37:22. | |
think Holland. They got to the semifinals in the last tournament, | :37:22. | :37:27. | |
they did really well, they hit teams on the break. They have changed | :37:27. | :37:33. | |
their style, so to see them playing the Dutch style, it will be | :37:33. | :37:38. | |
interesting. They will progress further than people think. The dark | :37:38. | :37:44. | |
horse? It is hard to see beyond the major teams, Germany, Sweden, France | :37:44. | :37:52. | |
and England. They are the top four ranked side! More of that insightful | :37:52. | :37:56. | |
punditry on Friday evening, when we bring you live coverage of | :37:56. | :38:04. | |
England's opening match from 7pm on BBC Three. We kick off the | :38:04. | :38:14. | |
:38:14. | :38:21. |