Bethany England won the FA Cup twice with Chelsea before joining Tottenham in January 2023Date: Sunday, 14 April Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Kick-off: 12:00 BST Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two and follow updates online, plus highlights on the BBC Sport website
Tottenham captain Bethany England knows what it takes to win silverware – but being in a Women’s FA Cup semi-final with Spurs is new territory.
England was a serial winner with former club Chelsea, picking up four league titles and two FA Cups during a successful seven-year spell.
Spurs were not even competing in the top tier when England won her first Women’s Super League trophy but their rise has been rapid and the striker hopes she can guide them all the way to Wembley.
They face Leicester City in the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday (12:00 BST kick-off) with both sides vying to reach Wembley’s showpiece for the first time in their club’s history.
Following promotion to the WSL in 2019, Tottenham have developed on and off the pitch but progress has not always been smooth. England arrived in January last year with the club in a relegation scrap and her goals helped keep them up.
This season, under new manager Robert Vilahamn, they have soared up the table and England says they are in a position the club want to get used to in the future.
“We started this season on a different level to the way we did last year,” England told BBC Sport.
“We’re sitting in a much better position in the league and our performances have been better. We just want to keep improving the way we play.
“It’s the club’s ambition to make this a permanent thing. We’re not just here to make up numbers.
“Tottenham is a huge club and it’s definitely doing its best to push to be in the top four [in the WSL]. You can see the progress in such a short space of time.
“Going forward, we want to be in a position where we’re constantly challenging for titles, constantly making the later rounds for the cup competitions and trying to win everything we can for this football club.”
‘We’re giving the fans something to believe in’
Bethany England scored in the 96th minute against Manchester City, taking the game to extra time and a penalty shootout which Tottenham eventually won
England soon established herself as a fan favourite at Tottenham after joining in January 2023.
She scored 12 goals in 12 WSL games last season, helping them avoid relegation, before taking on the captaincy this summer, and scoring a 96th-minute equaliser in their FA Cup quarter-final victory over Manchester City last month.
She had to wait to make her mark this year following hip surgery but England says she is now “really proud” to be part of a squad making history in the competition.
“The first game of the season at Stamford Bridge, even though we lost that game, it was end-to-end and there were definitely moments we could have taken. It set the tone for us for the rest of the season,” said England.
“Watching the way the girls put in that gutsy performance and going into games without showing fear… I think that’s the biggest thing we can see from this season. Players are starting to express themselves and play more freely.
“It was always going to be an exciting year for us. The club brought in great staff and knowledgeable people. It’s shown in our performances and we’ve been able to produce much better quality football.
“There’s been a huge shift from the club from top to bottom. We’re giving the fans, who pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us every week, something to enjoy and something to believe in. We know the heartache this club has had.”
‘It will be a fight – we have to prepare for that’
Tottenham’s reward for defeating WSL leaders Manchester City was to set up a tie with Leicester City, who like Spurs, have never reached this stage of the competition before.
With last year’s finalists Manchester United and Chelsea facing off in the other semi-final, it is a great opportunity for both clubs to progress.
“Everyone thinks it’s great [to have a new finalist guaranteed]which I agree with, but I can imagine Leicester were thinking the exact same thing when the draw came out,” said England.
“It’s been the same teams winning it because they know how to and are at the top of their game. It’s now up to us to challenge them and put them in a difficult position. I think for all the fans, it’s going to be exciting.
“The team need to keep in a grounded place. We can get caught in the dangerous territory of thinking we have already made the final because it’s Leicester. But they have shown their resilience this season, just as much as we have.
“It will be a fight and we have to make sure we’re prepared for that and don’t get ahead of ourselves. If we spend all our energy already thinking we’re there – then we’ve already lost.”
2024-04-11 07:47:31
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