Sunderland-born Jill Scott is delighted that the England Women’s team will be playing a high-profile fixture in the North East.
And Manchester City midfielder Scott, who recently helped the Three Lions to World Cup qualifying wins over Belarus and Ukraine, believes the fans will come out in force.
England v Sweden
A Women's International
2pm, Sunday 3 August 2014
Victoria Park, Hartlepool United FC
Call 01429 272 584 to buy tickets
She told FATV: “It should be fantastic. They love their football in the North East, it’s all people talk about – and it’s not just men’s football, it’s women’s football as well.
“Even before they were in the WSL, Sunderland Women were getting crowds of up to 1,000 so hopefully we can get a full house at Hartlepool and hopefully there will be more England fixtures in the north east to come.”
Scott is one of six current England players who hail from the North East, a list which includes Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs, whose dad Keith was voted Pools’ supporters’ player of the year in 1991-92.
Scott added: “There’s loads of England players that have come through Sunderland’s Centre of Excellence; me, Demi Stokes, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton for example.
“So I think you can see that the North East breeds quite decent players and hopefully there will some of them on show when we take on Sweden.”
The match against Sweden takes place just under three weeks before England’s penultimate World Cup qualifier, against Wales, when a draw will be enough to seal a place at Canada 2015.
Scott explained: “It’s really important that we do put ourselves up against the likes of Sweden, Germany, USA and France.
“They are always tough games and that calibre of opposition asks different questions of you. That will only make us better if we do get through to the World Cup.”
Scott scored the last time these two sides met in England, in May 2011.
The then Everton player opened the scoring with a header a minute into the second half and Karen Carney rounded off an impressive 2-0 win from the penalty spot.
Tickets are priced at £5 for adults and £2.50 for children and concessions.
A family ticket (two adults and two children) is available at £10 and group booking discounts also apply.
Tickets are available via 01429 272 584 (option 2) via TheFA.com's ticketing page, at the Hartlepool United ticket office or by e-mailing tickets@hartlepoolunited.co.uk.
