Wednesday 6 March 2019 12:38, UK
England Women head coach Phil Neville believes his side will thrive under the pressure of their winner-takes-all clash with Japan in the SheBelieves Cup.
The Lionesses are currently second in the standings, behind the Japanese on goal difference, ahead of their meeting in Tampa on Tuesday.
England beat Brazil 2-1 in their opening game of the tournament before holding World Cup winners United States to an impressive 2-2 draw on Saturday.
A victory against Japan at the Raymond James Stadium would see England crowned SheBelieves Cup winners for the first time and Neville has backed his side to complete the job in Florida.
"The players are thriving under the pressure and expectation; it's when they're at their best," he said.
"The bigger the occasion, the bigger the challenge, I actually think that's when my players are at their best.
"Tomorrow is a game where they're going to have to play better than against the USA. People will now be expecting us to win. The USA was a great barometer for us."
Neville hailed Lucy Bronze as "the best player in the world" after the draw with the USA, but the former Manchester United defender insists she is not the only world-class player in his squad.
He said: "We've got a number of players now, Lucy is for me one of the best in the world, but we've got other players that produced world-class performances the other night.
"They're going to have to produce those types of performances again against Japan tomorrow night for us to win the cup. The best players go out against Japan and produce even better levels.
"I feel as if I've got eight to 10 really world-class players that would get into most teams in the world."
England will face Japan again at the 2019 World Cup later this summer and Neville believes a victory in France would be huge for women's sport in the UK.
He said: "When a little girl in Manchester, London or Newcastle sees my players beating USA, or performing like they did on Saturday night, that for me means they wake up Sunday morning and they want to go out onto the local park and play football.
"That's how you inspire."
