Author: Soorya G
England are hoping to kick-start their preparations for the World Cup with a win over Brazil. In an event that promises plenty of competition, England will face giants Brazil in the inaugural edition of the ‘Finalissima’ on Thursday. England will host the event once again, as the iconic Wembley Stadium has been reserved for the occasion.
The match is another in a series of sporting events around the world that have encouraged the development of women’s sport, with a big plus point being that tickets for the Grand Final sold out as soon as they went on sale. As a result, 90,000 fans are expected for the heavyweight clash, and the home side will be hoping for another good showing, as they did against the Germans last year.
“It’s really exciting to have so much demand so quickly, the game is in a good place and we obviously want to build on that. Whenever we can get this kind of exposure, it’s very good. Winning is a habit and the girls are very good at it. So we hope that we can continue.” said Lucy Parker, who will try to play her first match for the first team. The West Ham midfielder has made 35 appearances for the Londoners and is currently in good form.
The England women’s team trained for the first time in an extended period at St George’s Park on Tuesday, just before the big event. After the Final, England will also host Australia on Tuesday and, although both games are classified as friendlies, their performance will be very important as the World Cup approaches.
Manchester City star Lauren Hemp, who took part in last year’s European Championship final, said that the atmosphere in a packed Wembley Stadium can be intimidating to say the least. More than 87,000 people attended the Euro final, and a similar number is also expected on Thursday.
“As players, we can definitely feel the fans and that’s what you need throughout the games, because sometimes if I’m exhausted or lose focus for a minute, it’s the fans who really help me to keep going. In the last few minutes, it helps us enormously, because they kind of give you that last breath you need to keep pushing until the end” said Hemp.