Siobhan Chamberlain is preparing for the biggest game of her career.
The England Women’s goalkeeper has been to two World Cups and three European Championships, and she played for Bristol Academy in the 2011 FA Women’s Cup Final.
But now the 31-year-old is readying herself for what she believes will be her biggest one-off challenge to date – facing Germany at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in front of a record 55,000 fans.
England Women v Germany
Breast Cancer Care International
3pm, Sunday 23 November
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Live on BBC Two
Chamberlain said: “This will definitely be the biggest game I’ll have been involved in.
“The crowds during the World Cup in China were massive, as they were in Germany in 2011, but with it being a such a big home crowd at Wembley is even better.”
Mark Sampson’s squad won all 10 matches as they qualified for next summer’s World Cup Finals with relative ease.
But Chamberlain, who met up with the rest of the England squad at St. George’s Park on Tuesday, is expecting a much more difficult examination against Silvia Neid’s talented outfit.
Germany have won two World Cups and eight European Championships, including each of the last six.
They, too, won all 10 World Cup qualifiers and Chamberlain is excited by the challenge that awaits under the arch.
She said: “We had a comfortable qualifying campaign where we scored lots of goals and won 10 out of 10, but going into a World Cup you need to test yourself against the best before you get there – and Germany are certainly the best team we can face.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to see where we are at this moment in time. It’s a great opportunity to put on a good performance in front of a home crowd to try and get them behind us ahead of the World Cup.
“However the result goes, though, it will just be good to see where we are, what areas we are doing well in and what areas need improving. The result is not the be-all and end-all.
She added: “Everyone is loving the environment at the moment. Everyone is excited by being in this squad, we all want to be involved against Germany, but more importantly we all want to be a part of the World Cup next year.”
