Women's World Cup: Great Scott tips England to cause seismic shocks

Official Football Association publications tend to feature the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and John Terry either celebrating a goal or modelling a new kit. The cover of this season's FA Diary, however, shows two girls playing head tennis and can be seen both as an illustration of the growing importance attached to women's football and an act of contrition: it was the FA who banned the sport from League grounds in 1921 as "quite unsuitable for females", a ruling not revoked until 50 years later.

Now, as England prepare to play at the World Cup in China, the FA's chief executive, Brian Barwick, says: "Their commitment and sheer love of the game are a joy to watch and they are a success story to be proud of."

Further success will not be easily achieved over the next three weeks. To reach the quarter-finals, England must finish in the top two in a group containing Germany, the reigning world and European champions, Argentina, the South American champions, and Japan, who provide the first opposition on Tuesday. "Other teams are looking at us as if we're just happy to be here, but we know what we're capable of," says 22-year-old Alex Scott, the regular right-back and one of nine squad members from the Arsenal side who last season won all 22 Premier League games and whose winning goal added the Uefa Cup to a domestic Treble.

Among her clubmates with an important role to play this week – the second game is against Germany on Friday – is Kelly Smith, who played as a professional in the United States and was voted Player of the Tournament in a warm-up competition in China in January. Thrown in with the three World Cup favourites, England drew with both Germany (who had beaten them 5-1 last October) and the USA, before losing 2-0 to the host country. "It's been a dream of mine to play at a World Cup for well over a decade," Smith says. No England player has enjoyed that opportunity since 1995, when the second such tournament was held in Sweden, and won by Norway. The USA won in 1991 and 1999, but Germany have been the real force since then. They took the 2003 title and followed up with the European Championship, staged in North-westEngland two years later.

Hope Powell, who won 66 England caps, was appointed full-time coach to the national team in the summer of 1998 and now has responsibility for the lower age groups as well. The first female holder of Uefa's Pro Licence, she has faced some similar problems to Steve McClaren – the Leeds United player Steph Houghton broke a leg the day before flying out to the pre-World Cup training camp in Macau – as well as some additional ones: one player lost her job because of the amount of time off required for training and travelling. No distractions have been reported so far, however, with the HABs – husbands and boyfriends.

Powell says the Germans have "a potent mix of older, experienced players and those coming through from the youth sides". The USA, who are Olympic champions, have in Kristine Lilly the only player to have appeared in all five World Cups. They will be tested in Group B by Sweden and Nigeria, while Brazil parade the world's leading player, Marta, in Group D against China, Denmark and New Zealand.

Fifa are putting up £3.17m in prize money for the tournament and claim 26 million female players worldwide (100,000 of them in England). It all has a feel of missionary zeal about it, which is shared by the England party. Scott proudly points out that at the European Championship, the opening game at Manchester City's ground attracted 29,000 as well as a television audience of 2.7m, and there were larger crowds for England games at Blackburn than some watching Rovers in the Premier League.

"We just want to keep raising the profile of women's football, try to take it to the next level and make people aware of how serious and dedicated we are," she adds. "It's not a joke any more, it's serious. And to play in a World Cup is a dream come true for any boy or girl, isn't it?"

England in China

Squad: Rachel Brown (Everton), Alex Scott (Arsenal), Casey Stoney (Chelsea), Katie Chapman (Arsenal), Faye White (Arsenal), Mary Phillip (Arsenal), Karen Carney (Arsenal), Fara Williams (Everton), Eniola Aluko (Chelsea), Kelly Smith (Arsenal), Rachel Yankey (Arsenal), Anita Asante (Arsenal), Siobhan Chamberlain (Chelsea), Rachel Unitt (Everton), Sue Smith (Leeds United), Jill Scott (Everton), Jody Handley (Everton), Lianne Sanderson (Arsenal), Vicky Exley (Doncaster Rovers Belles), Lindsay Johnson (Everton), Carly Telford (Leeds United). Coach: Hope Powell.

Itinerary: 11 Sept: England v Japan,(Shanghai, 8pm); 14 Sept: England v Germany (Shanghai, 8pm); 17 Sept: England v Argentina (Chengdu, 8pm). Quarter-final: 22 Sept: Wuhan, 5pm; or Tianjuin, 8pm. Semi-final: 26 Sept: Tianjin, 8pm; or 27 Sept: Hangzhou, 8pm. Final: 30 Sept: Shanghai, 8pm.