Mark Sampson has promised that his England Women’s team will be a “nightmare” for every opponent at next year’s Euro finals.
The Lionesses defeated Serbia 7-0 on Tuesday which, coupled with the day’s other results, meant they progressed to Netherlands 2017 as at least one of the six best runners-up out of the eight qualifying groups.
England are top of Group 7, two points clear of Belgium with two qualifiers remaining.
Sampson said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be there.
“Credit to all the players and staff who played their part in helping the team qualify this early.
“We have ambitions to win the trophy”
Mark Sampson on Euro target
“We never had any doubts that we’d get to the finals. Our ambition is to go out there, be competitive and try and go all the way.
“We are determined to go to this tournament, be a nightmare for every opponent we face and try and come back with the trophy.”
England were Euro runners-up in Finland in 2009 while Sampson led the side to a historic bronze medal at last year’s World Cup in Canada.
But now the head coach has designs on collecting a gold medal.
He said: “We have always been focused on the massive vision that is to win this tournament.
Jill Scott and Gemma Davison celebrate against Serbia
“The team are working so, so hard every day to get better. They are taking a huge amount of responsibility to develop their own games and support the team.
“If we continue to do that then we can definitely go out there as a team with ambitions to win the trophy.
“We knew we had to progress through the group first and foremost and the results have been really positive, particularly this week.
“To score so many goals and keep two clean sheets puts us in a good place and maintains our record of 50 qualifiers unbeaten.”
England will entertain Estonia in September before travelling to Belgium for the final qualifier, a match that should decide which nation tops the group.
