Alex Greenwood, a 29-year-old defender for England, believes that the Lionesses will soon regain their ability to score goals at the Women’s World Cup.
Despite being the European champions, they have not scored a goal from open play in over three games.
In their first match against Haiti, they won 1-0, but the only goal came from a penalty by Georgia Stanway. The team’s missed chances have led coach Sarina Wiegman to comment that the players are lacking ruthlessness.
“I’ve seen the girls every day in training, so it’s not a concern for me,” Greenwood said on Wednesday.
“I think the games (without goals) have come in a small space of time and I think we’ve proved in the past that we can score goals, we’ve got players all over the pitch who can score goals.”
“In football, you go through little spells where you might not score as many goals as you’d like, but the chances are created and I think that’s the most important thing.”
England, who will play against Denmark on Friday at Sydney Football Stadium, achieved an incredible 80 goals and did not concede any in the World Cup qualifiers.
Ella Toone scored England’s most recent goal in open play during the Women’s Finalissima against Brazil on April 6th. Their most recent game with multiple goals was a 6-1 victory over Belgium in the Arnold Clark Cup in February.
“We’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net when we have those chances and I think we will,” Greenwood said.
“We’ve got enough players and enough quality on this team to create the chances and to put the ball in the back of the net.”
In their first match of the tournament, Denmark narrowly defeated China by a score of 1-0, thanks to a goal from Amalie Vangsgaard in the final minute of the game. Pernille Harder, who currently plays for Bayern Munich and previously played for Chelsea, is a crucial player for Denmark and her abilities were acknowledged by Greenwood.
“What she’s achieved in the game has been outstanding. I think I’ve been very much aware of it playing against Chelsea, I remember the problems she causes,” Greenwood added.
“Likewise, they’ve got some really good individuals all over the pitch. I think for us it’s about nullifying their threats, her being one of them and we’ll have a game plan to do that.”
The Lionesses have relocated to their base camp in the coastal town of Terrigal, situated approximately 100 kilometers north of Sydney. They will be staying there for the duration of the tournament, except for a brief flight to Adelaide for their last group game.
“We wanted them to feel Australia,” Kay Cossington, the FA women’s technical director told reporters. “That’s important. They need that outside opportunity.”
Greenwood mentioned that players were utilizing their free time at the nearby coffee shop, taking leisurely walks along the beach, engaging in coloring activities, and solving jigsaw puzzles in the team games room.
“It’s a relaxed camp. The staff make it very relaxed… the players feel relaxed so there’s no concern there,” she added.
READ ALSO: Moussa Dembele moves to Al-Ettifaq following expiration of Lyon contract
