Goalkeeper Mary Earps vowed that “the best is yet to come” from England as they prepare to face Colombia in Saturday’s Women’s World Cup quarter-final in Sydney.
The Lionesses will need to reach the final four without forward Lauren James, who has contributed three goals and three assists this tournament but will be serving the first of her two-match ban for the red card she was issued in England’s last-16 encounter with Nigeria.
While Sarina Wiegman’s side have battled their way into this round, dominance has been largely replaced by dogged determination to grind out wins and keep the dream of lifting a first World Cup trophy alive.
Earps said: “I think it’s an exciting time to be an England player for sure, but we have to earn that right every day.
“And I think that we’re constantly looking to improve and drive performance and drive our standards and I think that that’s the best thing about it. We’re not sitting here, of course we’re happy that we’re here and grateful that we’re here, but we’re not satisfied, we’re not done, and there’s still more levels we want to go.
“I really believe the best is yet to come. I think there’s so much talent in the group, and so many more levels we can go, I really do believe that.”
Earps has so far conceded just one goal across four World Cup matches this tournament, save for the two spot-kicks that went past her in England’s dramatic 4-2 victory on penalties against Nigeria to set up this Colombia meeting.
The 10-woman Lionesses survived 30 minutes of extra time to force those penalties after 21-year-old James was sent off late in the second half for stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie, an act for which she later apologised.
The red-card incident triggered an automatic one-match ban which was extended to two games on Thursday night by FIFA’s disciplinary committee, a decision which would make the Chelsea prodigy available for a potential England final on August 20.
Wiegman confirmed the other 22 members of her squad are fit to play against Colombia, who boast their own youthful weapon in Real Madrid’s 18-year-old forward Linda Caicedo.
While the Lionesses have benefitted from solid defending, they have looked less convincing in attack outside of their 6-1 victory over China in the group stage, with just one other goal – indeed from James – from open play.
Earps’ feels her faith in her side to find another gear is justified by what the FIFA Best award-winning keeper sees from her team-mates every time they train at the Central Coast Stadium.
Earps added: “I think the most important thing to note about that is the fact that we’ve been winning games.
“We’re in a results business, and we’ve earned the right to be in the position we’re in today. But obviously I experience training every day, I know the players personally, and I’ve had the privilege of working with them for some time.
“I can see it just day to day. I just can see the talent in the team. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ve been bad by any means, but I think you have seen glimpses of what we’re capable of.
“We as a team know the standard we want to get to. Our efforts have been 110 per cent and we’ve driven out and we’ve grinded out those results.
“However, in terms of the way that we’d like to dominate games and the way that we’d like to go about our business. I think as a group, we’re excited by that challenge of knowing that we think we can do more.”
Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum hoped his side’s ability to hold England to a goalless draw for 120 minutes could serve as a “blueprint” for the Lionesses’ future opponents.
That baton has now been passed to Colombia boss Nelson Abadia, who said: “To know all the history that England brings with football, this is important, but for me it’s important to perform on the pitch.
“The optimism is the same that we have been having for every match. We know the conditions, we know the ability, we know what our team has and how they can face this match.”
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