Ellen White insists she will use the final hurdle disappointment of four years ago to help propel England to Women’s European Championships gold this time around.
The 24-year-old striker, who helped Great Britain reach the quarter-finals at London 2012, has hit a rich vein of form ahead of July’s 2013 Euros in Sweden.
White has got herself on the scoresheet in four of England’s last five games and she finished top scorer when the Three Lionesses won the Cyprus Cup in March.
The Arsenal star will need to be at her goal-getting best in Sweden as England face off against France, Spain and Russia.
But the memories of the 2008 Euros, where England lost the final to Germany, is also urging White and co on.
“Obviously it is a pretty tough group; playing France again will not be easy,” the former Leeds Carnegie player said.
“A lot of their players play for Lyon, so are regularly training with one another, day in, day out, week in, week out, so they are a very tough opposition, but then again they beatable.
“We definitely want to turn what happened in 2009 [defeat to Germany in the final] into a gold medal.
“We need to take the experience of what happened in 2009 and drive us forward to doing well in Sweden.”
White and co will also be buoyed by the support Great Britain’s women received at the London Olympics, where they beat Brazil 1-0 in front of a packed out Wembley crowd.
And with 15 of England’s Cyprus Cup squad having also played at the Games, White is hopeful that this experience will come in use in Sweden.
“We were really excited and happy when we played the Millennium Stadium against Cameroon and New Zealand to get 25,000 fans there,” White added.
“I don’t think anybody expected the amount of people we did get at Wembley, it was such an amazing feeling to know that 70,000 people were cheering for us. It doesn’t happen very often as we’re more used to having the majority of fans against us.
“To go Wembley and step out on the pitch, thinking of all the great players that had been there, seeing the changing rooms and then playing there was an amazing experience, and I think all the girls felt the same.”
© Sportsbeat 2013