Mark Sampson said his England Women’s team should feel excited for the year ahead after a productive week spent in La Manga.
The Lionesses, the majority of whom are still in pre-season training with their club sides, were put through their paces in southern Spain ahead of two testing matches against Norway and Olympic silver medallists Sweden.
An Ada Hegerberg header gave Norway a 1-0 win on Sunday, while Siobhan Chamberlain saved a second-half penalty as England drew 0-0 with Pia Sundhage’s talented charges on Tuesday evening.
Sampson’s side are gearing up for this summer’s European Championship finals in Netherlands and the head coach is delighted with the way his players have started the year.
He said: “There was a lot of good work done on this camp and that was always the intention. This was a ‘well-being’ camp, we said that from the start.
“The data we’ve collected, the conversations we have had – we have really set the year up to allow this team to go and achieve its full potential in the summer.
Boxes ticked for @Mark_Sampson after his #Lionesses' double-header against Norway and Sweden: https://t.co/QhrcUHJA8N
— England (@England) January 24, 2017
“As much as we wanted results on the pitch, I’m delighted with the attitude and application of the players and also with how far we’ve come in a short space of time.”
Sampson continued: “We got stronger as both games went on.
“To only concede one goal over the course of two games against two very good teams, to see 23 players on the field; we’ve ticked some boxes.”
England qualified unbeaten for Euro 2017, which will be staged in Netherlands in July and August.
They were drawn in Group D alongside Scotland, Spain and finals debutants Portugal.
Their next piece of Euro preparation is the second annual SheBelieves Cup in March where they will take on the top three sides in the FIFA rankings, USA – the World Cup holders – Germany and France.
Sampson added: “We’re already looking forward to the SheBelieves Cup and hopefully we’ll be in a much better physical condition by then to compete with three top teams.
“What this week has done has laid some huge foundations for the team.
“Every player will leave this camp massively excited about what’s ahead of them, their potential and the potential of this team.”
