By Alistair Magowan
BBC Sport in Germany
Women's World Cup 2011
- Venue: Germany
- Date: 26 June - 17 July
- Coverage: Watch all England matches live on the Red Button and BBC Sport website (UK only); listen on BBC Radio 5 live; highlights on BBC Two; final live on BBC Three
England coach Powell confident of squad strength
Captain Faye White says she will relish what could be her last World Cup as England look to better their quarter-final appearances of 1995 and 2007.
White has been battling with a knee injury but has declared herself fit to play in the opening game against Mexico in Wolfsburg on Monday.
"You never know how many more [opportunities] you are going to get," White told BBC Sport.
"So I've been working hard to put myself in a position to be here."
The 33-year-old has also warned that England should not underestimate their opponents before they take on New Zealand and Japan in Group B.
England coach Hope Powell has said the 21-player squad is the strongest group she has taken to a major championship in the 13 years she has been in charge.
England's Group B opponents
- Mexico, 27 Jun 1700 BST
- New Zealand, 1 Jul, 1715 BST
- Japan, 5 Jul, 1715 BST
Knee problems for White and star midfielder Fara Williams have been Powell's only major concerns, but both will be in contention for the opener at the Wolfsburg Arena, which kicks off at 1700 BST on Monday and is live on the BBC.
England, who are 10th in Fifa's rankings, have recently beaten two-time World Cup winners the United States, and the world's fifth-ranked team Sweden.
They also qualified for the World Cup unbeaten, and reached the European Championship final two years ago, where they were thrashed by Germany.
But although Mexico are ranked 22nd in the world, they too have beaten the US and the Swedes, and White believes they are representative of the improvement in the international women's game.
"Every team that gets to a World Cup has to have a good pedigree," she told BBC Sport. "Not only have we progressed and developed, so have other nations and the gap between the top five or six teams and the rest is narrowing.
"Mexico had a great closed-game result against Sweden last week so I don't think you can underestimate them. In the 2007 World Cup we had a game against Argentina which we won 6-1, but I would be surprised if we saw a score like that in this World Cup."
Despite the squad's depth, England's star forward Kelly Smith is expected play a big part in any success in Germany.
Smith, 32, scored four times at the 2007 World Cup and White believes the team can now give her the support to make an even bigger impact on the world's biggest stage.
"Kelly has been one of the top three players in the world over the last few seasons and that's as England have improved as a team as well," White added. "Players like Marta from Brazil or Birgit Prinz from Germany, they have been up there for a few years too.
"Kelly has always had that ability but you need [to be] in a team which is playing at the top level, competing against the best teams to help her.
"She brings something special to this team without question. She has shown in the last few tournaments what she can do and I certainly hope, as her room-mate, that she can deliver and that this one is special for her and the team as well.
"China was a fantastic experience for me personally but also the other girls and I believe this is going to be even better."
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