England boss Neville not worried about form of goalscorers

England manager Phil Neville says that he is not concerned about the form of his goalscorers ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.

The Lionesses drew a blank against New Zealand as they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at The Amex Stadium in Brighton this afternoon.

The game saw Fran Kirby and Jodie Taylor struggle to strike up a partnership in attack. Chelsea striker Kirby has not netted for her country since the 1-1 draw with Australia in Fulham last October while Taylor’s last international goal  came in the 2-0 FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 qualifying win in Bosnia in April 2018.

Despite the lack of goalscoring form of two of his forwards, England boss Neville has confirmed that he is not worried and his happy with the all of the attacking options in the squad.

“I’m not worried about my goalscorers really” Neville said in the post-match press conference. “I know that they’ll get chances.

“I thought that Jodie could have scored two today and she said the same.

“I’m not worried, she (Taylor) was out for a long time and didn’t really get back playing until January or February for her club.

“I think her first appearance was in SheBelieves when she came on and then she started the Japan game.

“She’s still finding her rhythm but I think she is a big game player, when big games come Jodie Taylor will score goals.”

England’s next opponents could bring back fond memories for striker Taylor. The player netted a hat-trick against Scotland when the two sides last met at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 in Utrecht. The pair open their respective FIFA Women’s World Cup campaigns against each other in Nice on Sunday 9 June.

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of FAWSL Full-Time magazine. I have been reporting on men’s and women’s football at various levels since summer 2015. Some of the events which I have reported from include the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship, 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, SSE Women’s FA Cup final, Emirates FA Cup final, UEFA Europa League, English Football League and various international matches.

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