Stoney refusing to dream of medals as kick-off looms

The 30-year-old Lincoln Ladies defender admits she dreams of returning from the Games with a medal to show for her efforts as she and her team-mates prepare to get the whole event underway next Wednesday afternoon when they meet New Zealand at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

However, she is refusing to get ahead of herself despite knowing exactly what is at stake.

Stoney said: “Of course, a medal would be fantastic and do we dare to dream? Yes, of course we do. But we have got to focus on one game at a time. You can’t look at the medals until you are in the semi-finals.

“We won’t be looking that far ahead, but if we could medal, that would be great.”

Great Britain have been drawn in Group E along with the Kiwis, Cameroon and Brazil, who boast star striker Marta among their ranks.

It is a group which represents a challenge, but one Stoney and the rest of Hope Powell’s squad are confident they can meet.

The captain said: “It’s a tough group. We played New Zealand in the World Cup last year as England; Cameroon, we don’t have a lot of information about, and I have never personally played against Brazil.

“It’s a tough group, but one that I think we can definitely get out of and one that’s going to be competitive.

“Each team playing us is going to be a different challenge, and one we are really looking forward to.”

Sixteen of the players in the 18-strong group are drawn from Powell’s England squad, with Scots Kim Little and Ife Dieke adding fresh quality to a group of players which has made an impact on both the world and European stages in recent years.

England reached the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup in Germany, only to go out to France in a penalty shoot-out, and they were runners-up to the Germans at the last European Championship finals in 2009.

The United States and the side which beat them in the World Cup final, Japan, will be among the favourites once again, but Stoney believes they will not be alone.

She said: “I think America will be favourites, obviously – they are the reigning Olympic champions in football, and Japan recently have come through, so you have got to look at those two.

“But you have got to look at France as well. They have done really well recently – but hopefully people will be talking about us in the same way.”

Powell’s team will complete their preparations with a tough friendly against Sweden at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium tomorrow having spent the last few days at the Teesside club’s Rockliffe Park training headquarters, where they have worked alongside the men’s squad.

The women’s game has developed significantly in recent years, and Stoney revealed there have been admiring glances from some of their male colleagues.

She said: “It has moved on massively. Even since I have been playing – and I have been playing a few years now – the level is so much higher, the skill level is better, the fitness levels are better, the game is so much quicker, and it is a fantastic game to watch.

“Every time someone says, ‘I have never seen a game’ and they come and watch, they change their opinion straight away.

“Even speaking to Micah Richards the other day, he was saying, ‘You lot are decent’, and we will take that as a compliment.

“It’s great to work alongside them. You see how they live their lives around the hotel, how they lead themselves in training.

“We have been fortunate to watch them train, and they are pros.

“They are pros for a reason, because they are class players, and it’s great to be around them and learn from their experience.”