Head coach Jason Lee insists England’s women have plenty to play for in their final Hockey World Cup game against Germany despite being unable to reach the semi-finals.
Ranked third in the world ahead of the World Cup in the Netherlands, hopes had been high of England at least matching the bronze medal won as Britain at the London 2012 Olympics.
But it has turned into a disappointing experience with four consecutive defeats leaving England bottom of Group B and out of the running for the semi-finals.
The most recent of those losses came via a 2-1 defeat to Argentina on Sunday as Carla Rebecchi’s last-minute goal denied the team even a point.
But, buoyed by a much improved performance against the South Americans, head coach Lee expects England to end the group stage on a high against Germany.
“We can go forwards to the next game and the game after that with more pride because we’ve shown that we can be a good side,” he said.
“Some small things haven’t worked in our favour and our confidence has been bashed on a couple of occasions. It feels like we’re due a heap of luck.
“There’s as much pressure when you’re down at the bottom as there can be at the top. We’ve still got a lot to lose in terms of pride and self-esteem.
“The girls need to have some pride about who they are. They will think they have to do better and there will be plenty of suggestions on how we can achieve that, but this team certainly has a future.”
© Sportsbeat 2014