Leah Williamson says that she expects England to come up against a Canada side who play to their strengths at The Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough this evening.
The Lionesses will begin their Arnold Clark Cup campaign on Teesside with a match against the nation which won the Gold at last summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Canada head coach Bev Priestman previously worked as an assistant head coach of the England team during former boss Phil Neville’s tenure. When speaking about the challenges that England may face against Priestman’s Canada this evening, captain Williamson said that she expects the Lionesses’ opponents to play to their own strengths.
“When Bev worked with us, she had a real defensive focus and I’d say that you can see how they play in possession, they are a real organised team,” Williamson said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They have real pace and she is playing to those strengths.
“I think it is interesting to see what she has done with the Canadian team – obviously, they’ve done well at the Olympics. It is an efficient Canadian team and we arguably didn’t get there with Bev.
“It is interesting to see and good for us to play against.”
Williamson was a member of the England team which was defeated 2-0 by Canada at the bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent last April and the defender has seen her England career develop at a rapid pace since that game. Williamson went on to say that the Lionesses are in a different place now than where they were almost a year ago.
She said “I feel more confident and getting more experience makes a difference, that’s maybe where the squad has changed as well. If you look at that game and somebody like Lauren Hemp for example, she has gone to a summer tournament, has played outstanding and has kicked on. You have got a talent and now a real force in the game.
“It is the same for a lot of players and that is maybe how we have changed. We will go into the game wanting to win but it is also a learning curve, it is about being sure about what we want to do whereas before, it was a very short term vision. We were preparing for something with no idea of where it was going to go but now, we are preparing for a journey so it is a different ball game.”
England’s opening fixture of the Arnold Clark Cup is scheduled to kick-off at 7.30pm this evening.