Forward Lauren Hemp insists England know what is at stake when they play the Netherlands on Wednesday as they bid to keep their European title defence alive.
The Lionesses’ backs are against the wall after suffering an tournament-opening 2-1 defeat to France to set up what is already being billed as a “must-win” meeting with 2017 champions the Netherlands.
Victory could alleviate some of the danger of England becoming the first defending champions to crash out in the group stage, but they need to spark some swagger back into the side ahead of the critical clash.
“This team, a lot of the time, we thrive under pressure,” said Manchester City forward Hemp. “Obviously it’s one of those situations. Every game we go into, we want to win.
“From how we acted in the last 10 minutes (against France), we know what’s at stake, and obviously we want to get as far as we can.
“We are reigning champions. It is important to remember that and gain confidence from that.
“I love playing in football matches where we need to win. Those are the games you want to be involved in. It’s important we take confidence from parts of yesterday.”
It was the introduction of late substitutions that sparked England – down by a quickfire first-half French double – to life, but Keira Walsh’s 87th minute goal proved mere consolation.
On Sunday, the Lionesses held a well-attended open community training session at their Zurich training base, Sportanlage Au, followed by an autograph signing.
Most of the players who trained either did not feature in the opener or had short cameos, including major tournament debutants Grace Clinton and Michelle Agyemang, who made an argument for getting more minutes despite winning just her second England cap.
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The defeat was a first European Championship group-stage loss for England boss Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands then England to their respective titles – the only head coach in men’s or women’s football to win a Euros with two nations.
Saturday was hardly England at their best, but asked what the mood was in camp this morning – and whether or not team-mates had called each other out, Hemp replied: “I’d say it was more of an arm around each other.
“When times are tough, we’ve had difficult conversations on the pitch at times, I think after it, off it, you’ve got to come together rather than push each other further apart.
“And that’s what this team are good at – getting around each other and supporting each other. We’re going to need everyone back up to their best on Wednesday.”
