Clarke hoping Kiwis winner can earn England start to face Japan

Hope Powell’s side came from 1-0 down to beat the Kiwis 2-1 and need a point against Japan tomorrow to guarantee their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

“We got off to a rocky start but this win gives us confidence,” said Clarke, 21. “I want to play from the start against Japan but that’s Hope’s decision.”

The Lincoln Ladies attacker scored with nine minutes remaining against New Zealand to put England’s World Cup hopes back on track after a nervy first half.

Having drawn their opening game 1-1 with Mexico, England went behind to an early Sarah Gregorius strike but levelled matters on 63 minutes when Jill Scott, operating in a more advanced role, scored with a header.

“We needed the win and it was fantastic,” added Clarke, who was also on target in a recent friendly win over USA. “You could see that we were plugging away when I came on and we felt we could turn it around.”

England captain Faye White admitted that at half-time the team feared they were heading home, but the introduction of Karen Carney and a change in tactics helped them improve their performance.

“We said at half-time that we had 45 minutes to save our World Cup and we did that,” said White.

“We had to support the forwards better and get the ball in the box to cause some problems. The win gives us a lift going into the last game.”

Japan have looked impressive in their first two Group B fixtures, beating New Zealand 2-1 and then thumping the Mexicans 4-0 on Friday to seal their path to the knockout stages.

They are fourth in Fifa’s rankings and have lit up the tournament with their passing and movement, with 32-year-old captain Homare Sawa scoring a hat-trick against the central American side.

A draw in Augsburg will be enough for England to move into the last eight, and there are scenarios that would see them through even if they lose.

But England will be aiming to beat them to win the group and potentially avoid a quarter-final against hosts Germany, though even that would not be guaranteed as France could yet win Group A ahead of the world and European champions.

“We know Japan are a very, very technical side,” Powell said. “We’ll prepare as best we can as we always do, and hopefully hit the ground running a bit quicker than we have done so far.”

Yesterday, Brazil beat Norway 3-0.