England captain Steph Houghton knows Netherlands will provide the ideal test for the Lionesses as they gear up for their assault on the European Championship finals.
Mark Sampson’s side will take on the Euro 2017 hosts in a friendly in Tilburg on Tuesday, their final match of 2016.
And Houghton knows the players at Arjan van der Laan’s disposal, including Manchester City club-mate Tessel Middag, will bring the best out of her team, who qualified unbeaten for next summer's tournament.
Netherlands v England
Women's International
6pm (GMT), Tuesday 29 November
Koning Willem II Stadion, Tilburg
Live on BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website
She said: “As a defender, it’s great to be challenged by top forwards.
“The likes of Daniëlle van de Donk and Shanice van de Sanden, who we play against week in, week out [in The FA WSL]; we know they’re real threats to us.
“Tess is a fantastic player, too.
“She hasn’t featured as much as she probably would have liked this season but I really feel she’s going to be a top, top player, so she’s another one we’re going to have to stop.
“We know it’s going to be an interesting game and a tough one at that, all over the park.”
England are on an unbeaten run which stretches back to March, when they let a 1-0 lead slip against European champions Germany in the SheBelieves Cup in America.
They have won six of their last seven matches, and Houghton, who led City to a league and cup double last season, is looking to take that momentum into a tournament year.
She said: “We really want to end this year on a high. We deserve that.
“We’ve put in so much hard work this season and we’ve improved a lot as a team on and off the pitch. It’s a credit to everyone who has played their part, the staff included.
“We’ve got winners in this side and we want to make it 10 games unbeaten.”
Houghton continued: “Over the last few games we’ve been trying to work on a system that benefits all our players.
“We’re getting the ball down a lot more and that’s benefitting the players who like to get the ball at their feet.
“We’re creating a lot of problems for teams.”
Not only is it the final international of the year, it’s also the players’ final match of any sort until January, and Houghton said her team-mates will rest up over the Christmas period, ready to attack 2017.
She added: “We’re looking forward to a break but I know it’s going to go so quickly. We have to handle ourselves well.
“It will be a case of getting back to it in the New Year.
“It’s about peaking at the right time and we want to be peaking for the Euros.”
