England Women's star Jill Scott says she cannot wait to head home to the hotbed of football that is the north-east on Sunday.
The fixture against Sweden in Hartlepool is of special significance for Scott, who began her career just 20 miles away with her hometown club Sunderland.
And the midfielder says she and her four other team-mates from the area are certain the region will welcome the national team with open arms.
"It’s fantastic," she said. "I’ve been talking to Steph [Houghton] a lot about it recently. It’s great for our families to be able to come and watch without travelling six hours to London.
England v Sweden
International fixture
2pm, Sunday 3 August 2014
Victoria Park, Hartlepool
Call 01429 272 584 for tickets
"There’s a massive support for women’s football in the north-east. Whenever I’m home I go to the Sunderland Women’s matches and there’s just so much support up there.
"Hopefully we can prove that again on Sunday, get a good crowd behind us and get the win."
The Lionesses are training at St. George’s Park ahead of the game against the side ranked fifth in the world, but Scott said that is not a fact that should phase England, but instead inspire them.
"When you want to be the best team you’ve got to play the best," she added.
"They’re always highly competitive, they’ve got some very good experienced players and we know that they can punish and hurt us if we’re not organised – but at the same time we’ve got a very good set of players here ourselves.
North-east connection: Jordan Nobbs is another who hails from the north-east
"We’ve got a mixture of youth and experience. If we can put all that together come Sunday we’ll be ready to play them and it will be a good game for all the spectators."
The game is being used as a preparation fixture for the penultimate 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification game, when England travel to Cardiff to take on Wales on 21 August.
And with eight wins from their eight qualification games so far – conceding just one goal on the way – they need only a point from their final two fixtures to book their place at the Finals in Canada.
Meanwhile, Sweden also look likely to book their place over the coming weeks.
Pia Sundhage’s side sit joint top of their group with Scotland on 21 points, but crucially have a game in hand over their rivals.
Ready for action. Like Jill Scott, England captain Steph Houghton is also from Sunderland
Like England, Sweden are also unbeaten and have conceded just once throughout the campaign.
And Scott says she knows there is every chance of meeting Sunday’s opponents again at a major tournament, but insists the result will have no bearing on their preparations should those circumstances arise next summer.
"Sweden are definitely one of those teams that you watch in tournaments and they always tend to reach the latter stages," she added.
"That’s where they are in the world and we will respect them going in to Sunday.
"But at the same time, no matter what the result is we won’t get carried away, it doesn’t make or break us.
"If we do well we’re not going to say we’re now going to go and win the World Cup – at the same time, if we don’t win we’re not going to say it’s the end of the world."
Tickets for the match are on sale now priced £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £10 and group booking discounts apply.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 01429 272 584 (option 2), via TheFA.com's ticketing page or at the Hartlepool United ticket office.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Siobhan Chamberlain (Arsenal), Carly Telford* (Notts County).
Defenders: Gemma Bonner (Liverpool), Lucy Bronze (Liverpool), Alex Greenwood (Everton), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Demi Stokes (University of South Florida).
Midfielders: Laura Bassett (Chelsea), Jade Moore (Birmingham City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Fara Williams (Liverpool), Jo Potter** (Birmingham City), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal).
Forwards: Karen Carney (Birmingham City), Eniola Aluko (Chelsea), Jess Clarke (Notts County), Natasha Dowie (Liverpool), Toni Duggan (Manchester City), Fran Kirby (Reading), Lianne Sanderson (Boston Breakers), Jodie Taylor (Washington Spirit).
* replaced Rachel Brown-Finnis
** replaced Dunia Susi
