England will embrace hostile Wales atmosphere in World Cup qualifier, says Phil Neville

The two sides meet in a winner-takes-all qualification clash on Friday night, with only 250 England fans present in a 5,000 sell-out Rodney Parade crowd

Phil Neville wants England to play without fear in Newport (PA)

England Women manager Phil Neville has told Wales that his players will embrace a hostile World Cup atmosphere in Newport.

The two sides meet in a winner-takes-all qualification clash on Friday night, with only 250 England fans present in a 5,000 sell-out Rodney Parade crowd. Jess Fishlock, Wales’ most-capped player, ramped up the pre-match hype this week when she called on home fans to “rattle” Neville’s celebrated Lionesses’ squad.

But Neville said: “I’d be saying exactly the same if I was with Wales. Boo, hiss, do whatever you can to put England off. We’re on their patch, we’re on their soil and they’ve got to do whatever it takes to win this game of football.

“But we’re used to playing under a certain pressure and expectation and we will handle that. I admire the choice of venue, their siege mentality, the men did it with Chris Coleman when they got to the Euros and there’s a planning to find that momentum.”

Wales, who are a mixture of professionals, semi-professionals and students, are 25 spots below fourth-placed England in the FIFA world rankings. But Jayne Ludlow’s side fought out a goalless draw at Southampton in March, and head into the reverse fixture with a one-point advantage over England having played a game more. England’s final group game is away to Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

“That is being disrespectful to Wales,” Neville said when asked if the Newport clash was a case of David versus Goliath. “I watch Jess Fishlock play for Seattle and she’s playing with some of the best players in the world. They have players like Natasha Harding and Sophie Ingle, who is one of the best players in the WSL.

“We are facing a team that hasn’t conceded a goal in qualifying and we know we are going to have to be at our very best to get a result. We are under no illusions about that. We let frustration get the better of us in Southampton, but that won’t happen again.”

Jess Fishlock is Wales’ standout player (Getty Images)

Neville was appointed Lionesses head coach in January until the end of the 2021 Uefa Women’s Championships. And, although he accepts the failure to qualify for the 2019 World Cup finals in France would be a “major disappointment”, Neville insists his future does not rest on the outcome of the next two games.

“The reason I took the job was because I wanted to be successful in the World Cup,” he said. “When it comes down to one game, or two games, on any given day any team can win. Sometimes you’ve got to hold hands up and say the opposition was better or got the luck.

“I don’t think it’s going to define me as a manager or the players in their careers. But it would be a major disappointment, and that’s not hiding away from expectation because at the start of the group we were favourites to qualify.” PA