Asante backs England Women to make their mark at the World Cup

Chelsea FC Women’s star Anita Asante has backed England to have a major impact at the World Cup in France.

Four of Asante’s teammates – Karen Carney, Carly Telford, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright – are in France with the Lionesses this summer.

Phil Neville’s side have beaten Scotland and Argentina in their opening two matches to secure their place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

In an interview with womensfootball.co.uk, Asante says England have the ability to go a long way at the World Cup.

“I think this is a really good England squad – there’s a lot of players actually that are unfortunate not to be in the squad that have also had very good seasons and that goes to show the wealth of talent that we have in this country at the moment,” she said.

“Off the back of the European Championship where the team got bronze, they’ll be feeling more confident and they’ve got a bit more experience with more capped players, with players playing week in week out in a very competitive league it’s going to help them.”

England face Japan on Wednesday needing just a draw to secure top spot in the group. They would then face a third placed team from either Group B, E or F in the round of 16.