Six years ago, England were flying high after making an impressive run to the finals of the 2009 EURO Women's Championship. Although the Three Lionesses were outclassed 6-2 by no. 1 ranked side Germany in an eight goal thriller, it was nonetheless a crowning achievement for a team that had not featured a final since 1984.
However, in the same tournament four years later, England, who have been consistently ranked as among the top ten sides in women's football since FIFA introduced its rankings in 2003, were given a harsh dose of reality as they were dumped out of the group stages without winning a single game. Now under the guidance of Mark Sampson, who took over in 2013, they will be keen on showing that they have turned a positive corner but are not viewed as favourites to win it all in Canada, despite their showings in past World Cups.
Interestingly, whilst they have not impressed much in EURO competitions, England have an interesting record when it comes to World Cups. This will be their fourth overall appearance and third consecutive tournament, and in each and every single one, they have made it to the quarter-finals. As such, the team's fan base will expect them to at least match this, but certainly for the Three Lionesses, they will want more.
Qualifying was, frankly, a breeze for Sampson's squad, who, like many of the European sides who will be featuring in Canada, simply crushed the opposition, with a perfect 100 per cent win record in their ten matches. In fact, they would have also had a perfect clean-sheet record had Ukraine not spoiled this by attempting to come back in a match that would ultimately finish 2-1 in favour of England.
Many of the women who feature forthe Three Lionesses are well known to followers of the WSL, with all but forward Jodie Taylor playing their club football in their native England. However, there is one player who the team will be counting on to shine as they attempt to match their wits against tough opponents France as well as Colombia and Mexico: Eniola Aluko.
Striker Aluko was in good form during England's qualifiers and her coach will be counting on her to provide the goals in Canada this summer
Aluko, who was born in Nigeria but moved to England at an early age, has scored a solid 32 goals in 90 appearances for the national squad, and was a part of the team that finished second at the 2009 EUROS as well as a quarter-finals spot in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. Yet, despite this, she has yet to score at a World Cup and in her third appearance, at 28 years of age and with considerable experience, she will be desperate to finally achieve what has eluded her in her last two tournaments.
During qualifing, she scored 13 times - a quarter of her team's total of 52 goals - and will be expected to again lead the line for England in Canada this summer.
England's ladies, who suffered a loss recently in a friendly clash with Canada, will begin their campaign by taking on France on June 9th in Moncton at Moncton Stadium in what will be an eagerely-anticipated clash. After facing Mexico at the same stadium four days later, they will wrap things up at Montreal's Olympic Stadium against Colombia on June 17th.
Here are the players who will represent England at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup this summer in Canada:
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), Carly Telford (Notts County)
Defenders: Laura Bassett (Notts County), Lucy Bronze (Manchester City), Alex Greenwood (Notts County), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Claire Rafferty (Chelsea), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Casey Stoney (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Katie Chapman (Chelsea), Jade Moore (Birmingham City), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Jo Potter (Birmingham City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Liverpool)
Forwards: Eniola Aluko (Chelsea), Karen Carney (Birmingham City), Toni Duggan (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Reading), Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal), Jodie Taylor (Portland Thorns), Ellen White (Notts County)
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