So prepared and excited are England Women ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup opener, head coach Mark Sampson believes there is not much more he can say to his players before the big kick-off.
The Lionesses get their Canada 2015 campaign under way against France in Moncton, New Brunswick on Tuesday afternoon.
They qualified unbeaten, and sealed their World Cup berth with a 4-0 win in Wales last August.
France v England
FIFA Women's World Cup 2015
6pm BST, Tuesday 9 June
Moncton Stadium, Moncton, Canada
Live on BBC Two
Preparation for the tournament started immediately, with matches against Germany and USA, the nations ranked one and two in the world, as well as a successful run in the annual Cyprus Cup competition in March.
After naming his 23-player squad in May, Sampson called the group together for two separate training camps, at St. George’s Park and in Toronto, and he says his team could not be any more prepared.
He told FATV: “This is the type of game where I probably haven’t got to say much. The players will be ready. They have been looking forward to this for a long time.
“Plans have been in place for a long time now. We’ve done our work. We’re prepared, we know what we need to do in relation to the game plan.
"We’re prepared psychologically in terms of managing the emotions of the day. We’re excited by that challenge.
“For me it’s a case of wishing them all the best, ask them to enjoy the challenge, enjoy the experience, stick to the game plan and just go for it.”
Sampson continued: “We’re in a good place. This team has got some real good characters. They really bring the best out in each other.
“What we are going to see on Tuesday is a group of people who are all fighting, all pulling in one direction.
“We are relaxed, confident, prepared and ready to go.”
Aside from the host nation’s curtain-raiser against China on Saturday, played in front of 53,000 fans – a record for any Canadian sports team – Tuesday’s match in Moncton is one of the most high profile opening-round games across the the six groups.
In terms of FIFA rankings, it is third against sixth. Added to that is the fact England have not beaten France since November 1974.
Sampson knows his side must be at their best to get a positive result.
England's squad and coaching staff for the 2015 World Cup
He said: “The facts don’t lie. They are third in the world and on form they are probably the best team in the world.
“They were unlucky to lose the Algarve Cup final to USA but prior to that they beat USA for the first time in their history [they] beat Germany in Germany, [avoided] being beaten by Brazil. This is a top French team.
“This is a team that, rightfully so, are confident they can go all the way. I understand why a lot of people are tipping this French team to be there or thereabouts.
“We’ve got to be ready for that challenge. We respect France. They’ve got some world-class talent and they have got a great manager who has done a great job in the last 18 months.
"They are a team now with a real sense of purpose. They will be determined to put a few wrongs right this year. But so will my England team.
“[We] are ready to perform. We know we are going to be at our absolute best. When we play these top nations we haven’t performed to the level we need to get a result.
“We played the likes of Germany, USA, France and we haven’t performed to the level we need to consistently over 90 minutes to get a positive result.
“We showed it against the likes of Canada and Sweden, but we need to show it on Tuesday and make sure we perform at our maximum. If we can do that we can certainly get the win that we want.”
After France, England will take on Mexico, also in Moncton, on Saturday 13 June followed by Colombia in Montreal on Wednesday 17 June.
England have never gone beyond the quarter-finals in their three previous World Cup outings, in 1995, 2007 and 2011, and Sampson has already targeted a spot in the last four this time around.
Sampson added: “The girls are full of ambition, drive and determination to do the nation proud.
“We are focused. We are prepared, ready and we know what we need to do in this game”
Mark Sampson England Women's head coach
“The players are ready. We know we’ve got to deliver but we are excited by that responsibility and we are looking forward to giving it a right good go.
“We have been aware of what we need to do to make sure we are ready to compete as best as we possibly can.
"We know against some of the fantastic opponents we are going to play we have to be foot to the floor, fifth gear, at our absolute best to compete with them.
“We are focused. We are prepared and ready and we know what we need to do in this game.”
