Euro 2022: England are 'ready to go' for Euros opener with Austria - Sarina Wiegman
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Euro 2022: Five great goals from five players to watch
Women's Euro 2022 - England v Austria |
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Kick-off: 20:00 BST Venue: Old Trafford, Coverage: BBC One from 19:00 BST, BBC Radio 5 Live commentary and live text coverage on the BBC Sport website |
England manager Sarina Wiegman says her team are "ready to go" as they prepare to open the Women's European Championship against Austria in front of a sellout crowd at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The Lionesses are bidding to win their first major tournament.
Since Wiegman arrived in September, England have gone 14 games unbeaten and have won their last six matches.
"You can feel that everybody is ready so we're excited to go," said Wiegman.
"We started our preparation in September and we have just worked from week to week."
The Dutch manager said it was "really incredible" to walk into a packed media conference room at Old Trafford, where the team will train for a final time on Tuesday evening.
She said excitement levels had risen in the last 24 hours but she is confident of the players' ability to manage their emotions before the Euro 2022 opener.
"We will get a feeling of the stadium then we start tomorrow and I can't wait," she added.
"We will just do the same things we always do and focus on our style of play as a team and as individuals. We also know the tournament starts tomorrow and we have been waiting for such a long time so it is an exciting moment.
"It would be strange if we weren't excited."
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Captain Leah Williamson said it will be a "very proud moment" for her to lead the team out against Austria and the team are "embracing the pressure".
England, ranked eighth in the world, are one of the favourites to win the tournament and Williamson hopes they can make the most of their home advantage.
"I'm sure tomorrow when I look back it will be a moment I will remember forever," said Williamson.
"I think the only thing that could top being on the pitch would be sitting with [friends and family]. I think they will be really excited. It's a very proud moment and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can.
"The good luck messages are obviously pouring in now. It's nice. It's an event for them. I'm sure they will have good fun.
"We've put in the work over the last few weeks and ticked the boxes we needed to. We know what it is and what to expect. We're ready for it.
"Everybody has their own things in place to deal with it. Pressure is a privilege and we are embracing it. It comes with the job but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy it at the same time."
While Williamson is confident England can deal with high expectations, she admitted there will be some nerves.
"The team's in a great place. This last training session now will be putting it all together but I think we're all ready for it," she added.
"We're not robots. There will be nerves. We're aware of the expectation. Within the camp it's about the excitement and enjoying it. This is my job. If I wasn't ready for tomorrow and wasn't excited for tomorrow then why would I do it."