England skipper Casey Stoney knows all about the ups and downs of tournament football.
At the last Euros in Finland, Stoney was sent off for a professional foul in their opener against Italy. England lost 2-1 but Stoney and her team recovered to finish runners‑up.
“Obviously, it wasn’t ideal,” she said. “To get sent off after half an hour is no player’s opening-game dream. But that was four years ago; this is a new tournament. I like to think I’ve come a long way since then and, hopefully, I’ll stay on the pitch for longer this time.”
The 110-cap centre-half admits she will have a few nerves when she leads the side out against Spain tonight but is not worried.
Stoney, who also captained Great Britain at the London Olympics, said: “For me, nerves are a good thing, I’ve always used nerves for energy. Some girls don’t suffer with nerves at all, some girls have them in a positive way.
“I’ll be a little bit nervous but at the same time raring to go and I always use those nerves to make sure I am ready.”
England have a good recent record against Spain, a team they faced in qualifying for Euro 2009 and the 2011 World Cup. In those matches Stoney’s side had two 1-0 wins and a couple of 2-2 draws.
She said: “We’ve done all the research we need to do. We’re excited; we’ve been waiting a long time for this so we are going to give it our best shot.”
