Ellen White admits she feels ‘like a kid again’, but admits England have plenty to improve on as the hosts gear up for their second Euro 2022 clash with Norway on Monday.
The Lionesses opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in front of over 68,000 supporters.
Beth Mead’s first-half strike proved enough for Sarina Wiegman’s side to come out on top as they kicked off their quest for European glory with three vital points.
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England’s record goalscorer White, 33, loved every minute of the occasion and says she still feels the same wearing the famous jersey now as when she first put it on.
White, speaking ahead of Monday night’s game in Brighton, said: “I think it was just an incredible occasion - 68,000 coming out and watching England and supporting England was absolutely insane.
“We’re so thankful to everyone coming out and are super proud - hopefully everyone was proud of this England team. I’m like a kid again – as soon as I walk into the changing rooms and the shirts are all out there, it’s an incredible feeling to play for your country.
“To walk out there and sing the national anthem, I hope you can see the emotion, the pride and the passion we all feel and I feel playing for England. It’s a real privilege and it’s something that I really want to grab hold of and I don’t want to miss it – this is amazing and a dream come true.”
England’s attention now turns to Norway, who opened up their tournament with a comfortable 4-1 win over Northern Ireland.
And White is all too aware of how strong their opponents on Monday will be, adding: “They had a pretty good start didn’t they – I went to get food and they were 2-0 up!
“They’re a great side, they’ve got some great players and they’re really well organised, so it will be a tough game on Monday.
“I think they’re a phenomenal team, and this is a really tough group. But we watched it, we’ve analysed it and we’re fully focused on what we can do. It’s a big, big game for us, and we’re excited for it.
“I think we have to be really wary of the frontline and the players they have. Their strengths are very, very good and something we need to be very wary of going into this game.”
England failed to find their fluent, eye-catching best against the Austrians, and White knows there is much to be improved ahead of their second match.
She added: "We could have scored some more goals or made some better decisions in that final third, but ultimately it’s room for us to grow in this tournament - it’s only game one.
"So we’ll continue to grow, we’ve been out on the training field and wanting to improve and develop and hopefully you’ll see that on Monday.
“We’ve analysed the Austria game and the areas we wanted to improve, pressing the ball and in the final third, and wanting to be more clinical, basically, so we want to go into this Norway game and hopefully put in a really big performance."
Tickets are on sale now for fans to experience a history-making tournament that aims to unite football and communities and amplify the growth of the women’s game. www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ticketing
