Manchester City and England captain Steph Houghton has definitely had a season to remember.
Having lifted the Continental Cup with her new club, she now has Wembley to look forward to as she will be leading the national team out on Sunday against European champions Germany.
The occasion will mark the first women’s England international being held at Wembley, with 55,000 people set to attend.
“To be playing at Wembley is what everyone is dreaming about,” said Houghton.
“Fingers crossed we can get a big crowd there supporting us. It’s going to be an exciting time for women’s football and one that we can’t wait for.
“We want to show the passion we have for our country and want to wear that jersey with pride.
“We are always committed and try to play good football, keep the ball on the ground and show some attacking flair,” told the FA.com.
And Houghton will have great memories of playing at Wembley having scored during the Olympics in front of 70,000 fans to beat Brazil.
“The Brazil game atmosphere was something that has never been heard of in women’s football.
“It was a bit surreal to be in the limelight. We were successful in the group stages, and I was scoring. As a left-back, I surprised myself!” Houghton told The Telegraph.
Houghton will also be able to add another trophy to her collection having been named women’s footballer of the year at the North West Football Awards which were held in Manchester last week.
City have five players in the England squad including new signing Lucy Bronze, who arrived from Liverpool this week.
“It’s brilliant to be here. It’s a new journey for me and I’m really looking forward to the start of the season,” she told City’s website.
“The way City are growing, the ambitions they have and what they want to do with the team is unbelievable. In the women’s game, it’s unheard of really so it was hard to turn them down.”
Other City players involved in the England squad are goalkeeper Karen Bardsley, midfielder Jill Scott and Toni Duggan, forward and the winner of WSL goal of the season.
England, who won all of their games in qualifying to the 2015 World Cup in Canada next year, will now wait for the draw which is on December 6 in Ottawa.
Houghton has also said how she hopes that playing at Wembley will make people more aware of the women’s game and hopefully get more people backing the team when they arrive in Canada.
“We want to play at Wembley, play the best we can, try and get people on our side,” said Houghton.
“For when we go to Canada for the World Cup we have the full support of the country back home. We want to create a buzz before the World Cup.’’
Tickets for England’s game this Sunday are no longer for sale, due to London Tube engineering works to the main Wembley tube stop.
Main image courtesy of FA TV via YouTube, with thanks.
