Confidence high within England camp ahead of World Cup quest

Powell’s team are feeling confident ahead of a group programme that starts in Wolfsburg (5pm) against Mexico and also features matches against New Zealand and Japan.

Powell does seem to have got preparations spot-on for the tournament, given England overcame World Cup favourites the United States in an April friendly, and subsequently defeated Sweden as well to emphasise their well-being.

Captain Faye White and influential midfielder Fara Williams have overcome injuries enhancing their chances of progress to the latter stages.

And while Powell is irritated by the lack of media exposure her players receive outside a major tournament, she does accept winning a World Cup in the national sport would be a significant achievement.

“As a country we are desperate for success,” she said.

“In the 13 years I have been here, this squad is stronger than it has ever been. The disadvantage is that we have not been paired with any European teams, who we know inside-out.

“It has been quite challenging to get information about the opposition but that has been done and now we are ready to go.”

Powell has admitted she would have been sacked as England manager by now if the same cut-throat attitudes prevalent in the men’s game existed in women’s football.

She is on the brink of her second World Cup campaign – and fifth major finals – 13 years after being handed the coaching reins by the Football Association.

However, much like Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, it took Powell some time to get a grip on the enormity of the job.

Seven years elapsed before she steered England to the European Championship quarter-finals, during which time she laid the platform for a more progressive period that culminated with a final appearance at the last Euros in 2009.

That improvement has continued, allowing Powell to repay the faith her employers have shown in her.

“The good thing about women’s football is that we are given time to work, nurture and embed a philosophy,” said Powell.

“If it was the same attitude some people in men’s football have, certainly on my initial results in the very beginning, I am sure I would have been sacked.”

With England installed as one of the favourites in Germany, it appears Powell’s name can be added to that of Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes on the list of glaring examples that show continuity breeds success.

“I don’t agree with the philosophy that you get the sack if you lose five matches on the trot,” said Powell.

“It doesn’t help the development of players and I hope we never go that way. I don’t believe that is good for football.

“You need a certain amount of time and practice to embed a philosophy that will improve players. Anybody who knows that understands the importance of continuity.

“Look at Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. It is not an accident.”

England’s Nigerian-born forward Eniola Aluko, meanwhile, insists considerable strides forward have been made since the last World Cup campaign in China four years ago and believes there are no excuses for Powell’s team in Germany this time around.

Aluko was furious back in 2007 at the lack of proper financial funding in place to reward England’s World Cup stars and vented her frustrations loudly, although she now plays down that row.

“It was more about being away at a World Cup for quite a while without any certainty as to how much we were going to get paid after the tournament or the bonus we would receive for reaching the quarter-finals,” she said.

“We have come a long way since then.

“We have really progressed and the evidence of that is in the last two games.”

Those last two games are victories over the highly-rated Swedes side and, before that, against the top-ranked USA, most of whom Aluko knows well from her own time living in North America.

“The Americans were surprised,” she said.

“I know nearly all of them and they are a very confident bunch.

“They have a lot of pride in their history and are a champion nation. They were impressed and shocked. They didn’t expect us to come out the way we did and were uncomfortable.

“It made everybody else sit up as well. But America don’t lay down and die. They come back. That is what we have to expect.”

Aluko, 24, has already made plans for life outside football and will embark on a career in law when her playing days are over.

She added: “You need to think ahead. It is very important to try and focus on what you will do when the game has finished because you are playing for a very short period of time.”