Phil Neville has warned his Lionesses that a World Cup semi‑final defeat to the United States will be avoided only if they endure considerable “suffering” and push themselves through unprecedented pain barriers.
England’s coach is not shy about telling his team that he would regard failure to reach next Sunday’s final as “unacceptable” as he demands collective bravery, both mental and physical, from a set of players schooled to view the term “risk averse” as taboo.
“The only way for us to go back home is as winners,” said Neville as he settled into the squad’s new base in sweltering Lyon on Saturday afternoon. “We have to understand that losing in a semi-final is not OK. Defeat here on Tuesday would represent failure.”
Despite acknowledging that England may need to up their “bravery levels” by “around 20%” to see off Jill Ellis’s defending world champions, he also worries about complacency on the part of a side who have reached the final four at the last three major tournaments.
“I think the FA know I’m doing a good job,” he said. “But I’ve told the players it would be easy for them to think: ‘Whatever happens, we’ve got to the semi-final, my reputation’s intact, we’ll probably get invited to Downing Street, everybody loves us at home.’ I don’t want that. We have to develop that serial-winner mentality, that ruthlessness. I don’t want us saying that there’s no pressure on us. That’s the safe way to think. We have to be even braver.”
Courage is at the root of Neville’s ambitious pass-and-move philosophy and he recently invited Katherine Grainger to England’s headquarters at St George’s Park to explain the concept. Britain’s most decorated female Olympian detailed the sacrifices required to transport her to the very top in rowing and, immediately before England’s 3-0 quarter final win against Norway in Le Havre on Thursday, Grainger reiterated such sentiments in a special video message. “The girls were instantly inspired by a female athlete who had achieved so much,” said Neville. “I wanted them to hear Katherine’s ‘winning hurts’ message again.
“She told them: ‘We have to suffer and exceed expectations. We have to trust in the pain we’ve gone through and the sacrifices we’ve made and accept it’s going to hurt.’ It had a more powerful effect than anything I could have said.”
If Neville’s willingness to delegate is refreshing, Tuesday will be all about his personal battle of wits with the Portsmouth-born Ellis. Much could hinge on whether he can outmanoeuvre her.
“The US know how to win,” he said. “Against France they went to five at the back early and then, when France were coming on strong at the end, they took the ball into the corner and managed the game out. They’re the most ruthless team here but other sides are getting closer and, if we play our own game, we have a chance.”
Many managers would instinctively turn pragmatic but Neville maintains his possession-based mantra is “non-negotiable” and compromise does not enter the equation.
“We cannot change our style because we think they’re a special case,” he said. “We have to be 20% braver than we’ve ever been to win. If you waver, they’ll punish you; they’ve scored in the first 15 minutes of every game here. They’ll want to throw the first punch.
“But the US are the barometer of our progress. This is the game we wanted and I don’t think they’ll look forward to playing us,” said Neville. “This is the moment my players have been waiting for.”
His Lionesses claim they want to be seen as “bad-ass” women but none of them is anywhere near as outspoken as Ellis’s social justice activist Megan Rapinoe, aka Donald Trump’s bête noire and the scorer of both goals in the 2-1 win against France.
“Some people can talk the talk but don’t deliver – but not Rapinoe,” said Neville, who will take charge of the GB team at the Tokyo Olympics next year. “But their whole team’s not scared of putting their heads above the parapet. They’re fighting for equality within their own organisation. And the way Rapinoe campaigns for equal rights and speaks out against homophobia and racial discrimination says a lot about her.
“I was always taught to stand up for what I believed in and I admire her.”
Neville is also a confirmed sun worshipper but even he acknowledges temperatures that hit 38C (100.4F) in Lyon on Saturday present a problem. At least by Tuesday’s 9pm kick-off in France it is expected to have cooled to about 27C.
“It’s still going to be hot,” said Neville. “But we’ve reached the moment where we have to deliver.”
The two semi-fiinalists last met in the World Cup in 2007 when the USA cruised to a 3-0 quarter-final win in China. They are rather more closely matched now, though, as illustrated by the 2-2 draw they played out in their last meeting, at the SheBelieves Cup in March. England’s goals came from Steph Houghton and Nikita Parris as they came from a goal down to lead 2-1. And it was the Lionesses who ended up winning the four-team invitational tournament.
