LAUREN HEMP reckons England are ready to go toe-to-toe with Spain after their six-goal Nations League pummelling of Portugal.
Following her international comeback yesterday evening the fit-again forward admitted she missed playing in front of Lionesses fans.
AlamyLauren Hemp says England are feeling confident ahead of their clash with Spain on June 3[/caption]
GettyHemp and her team-mates are second in their Nations League group behind Spain following their rivals’ 5-1 defeat of Belgium[/caption]
GettyEngland’s clash with Spain in June will be their last competitive match ahead of the July 2 start of this year’s Women’s Euros[/caption]
Before her side’s pivotal pre-Euros duel with Spain the Lioness, 24, made a successful return to England action for the first time since last October.
Their 6-0 humbling of Portugal involved four different players scoring for the reigning European champions.
They include Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones who registered her first international hat-trick
Defeat of their Nations League group A3 rivals would put England in the contest’s finals.
It would also fire a warning to their foes’ at this year’s Euros, with World Cup winners Spain likely to be one of the biggest threats.
Before their Tuesday duel in Barcelona, Hemp said: “The confidence (in the squad) is high.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Spain and we’ve had so many great games against them.
“We’re going to make sure we’re ready and rested for that game and we’ll make sure we start that match as we did this one (against Portugal).”
Hemp’s England shift at Wembley last night was her first in seven months and follows her recovery from a knee injury.
Her last Lioness game before then was a 2-1 friendly defeat of South Africa last October.
A match that was followed by Hemp undergoing a knee op a month later that would leave her sidelined until her Man City return in April.
In front of a 48,531-strong crowd, it looked as if she had never been away as she, Beever-Jones and Beth Mead terrorised Portugal’s woeful defence.
Hemp added: “It’s been a long journey and there have been times when I’ve thought, ‘when am I actually getting back on the pitch’ after having a few setbacks.
“But it’s great to be back in an England shirt and doing what I love doing. Hopefully there is still more to come.”
“It’s been a long seven months but coming back felt great.
“The fans are great and they’re always great and I’ve missed that as well with not being in the mix for a little while (due to injury).”
Defeat of Spain would see England register their second victory over the World Cup winners in the Nations League this year.
The last duel between the sides resulted in 1-0 win for Sarina Wiegman’s players at Wembley in February.
On whether victory would serve as a warning to the Lionesses Euros’ rivals, Hemp said: “There’s still a little while to go.
“It’s important that we still put in the performances leading up to the Euros.
“But at the moment we feel we’re in a great place.”
With Beever-Jones notching her first senior England hat-trick and Mead and Chloe Kelly scoring, Sarina Wiegman feels she has a Euros selection headache with her forwards.
On June 5 the England boss, 55, will announce who has made it into her 23-player squad for the tournament that starts on July 2 in Switzerland.
Wiegman has backed Lauren James to battle her way into contention with the Chelsea forward’s recovery from a hamstring injury progressing.
She said: “We have so many options up front in the England squad right now.
Sarina Wiegman believes deciding which England forwards to take to this year’s Euros will be a tough decision to makeGetty
“What we also hope for is LJ (Lauren James) coming back too. She’s still in rehab and doing good.
“I hope every striker will be fit including those who we have now in the squad with LJ added to that.
“Then it’s going to be really hard for me to make decisions for the Euros squad.”
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