Netball World Cup final: Tracey Neville says match against Australia is a ‘momentous occasion’ for England
Tracey Neville says the England squad deserve their place in the Netball World Cup final and believes they are capable of beating Australia.
Tracey Neville says the England squad deserve their place in the Netball World Cup final and believes they are capable of beating Australia.
Tracey Neville feels the Netball World Cup final is a “momentous occasion” for England as they look to win the tournament for the first time on Sunday.
England face Australia in the event’s showpiece match – live on Sky Max for non-Sky Sports subscribers, and Sky Sports Arena on Sunday from 4.30pm, with the match starting at 5pm.
It’s the Roses’ maiden World Cup final and they have already beaten Australia once in this tournament in the group stage.
“When you say about making history and breaking glass ceilings, today is a momentous occasion for England Netball,” Neville told Sky Sports News.
“We have built momentum and throughout this tournament they have built and followed the process. They have really earned where they have got to today.
“I am so proud of Jess Thirlby and all the staff who have invested in this team to get to this point.”
Watch the moment England made history by securing a spot in the Netball World Cup final.
Coming into the event, England were seen as underdogs among the big four nations – Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica being the other countries – but have lost only one quarter in the whole tournament.
Neville, who coached England to Commonwealth Games glory in 2018, thinks the experienced players have been key for the team at important moments.
“You can’t get away from the stalwarts in the team such as Helen Housby, Eleanor Cardwell, Geva Mentor and Layla Guscoth. Then your match winners like your Funmi Fadoju and Fran Williams,” she said.
“You say you build a team around your foundations and I genuinely think that’s what’s happened here. Those experienced players have come back from all over the world and have been magic through this tournament.”
England captain Layla Guscoth says her side are so grateful to play in World Cup final.
Tight game expected
Australia have been in every World Cup final since 1963, if you include the pre-1991 tournaments when the event was known as the “Championships”.
Only Australia and New Zealand have won the World Cup in its modern form, so England have history against them but Neville thinks momentum is on their side.
“When I saw the build-up towards us winning that gold (in 2018), I see some of the usual characteristics now – the fun, the confidence, but also each stage at this tournament, they broke history to get to this World Cup final,” Neville explained.
“I feel today if they stick to the process, stick to the game plan and they just really work for each other, I really do think the gold can be theirs.”
England’s Fran Williams admits that her side’s semi-final against New Zealand was a grind.
She added: “They need to be more clinical. I don’t think a nine-goal deficit will be as easy to get back against the Aussies. But I do think they started really, really well against Australians (on Thursday) and that is really important today.
“I think it’s about challenging the scoreboard. I think that it will be a really close game and we don’t generally score 60 goals against Australia, so I’m thinking it probably will be around that 53 or 54 mark. If we win by one again, how great would that be!”
Non-Sky Sports customers can watch Netball World Cup final on Sky Max, channel 113, on Sunday August 6 from 4.30pm. Sky Sports customers can also watch on Sky Sports Arena. Stream the final and more sport on NOW for £26 a month for 12 months
