‘Everyone wants to beat us’ - Manchester United forward Ella Toone is braced for mammoth England challenge

This week, the Lionesses will return to the home of football for the first time since captain Leah Williamson lifted the Euro 2022 trophy on the pitch after England beat Germany 2-1 in the final in July.

The European Champions performed in front of a home fans at the Bet365 Stadium in Stoke last month, when a sell-out crowd watched Sarina Wiegman’s players put no less than 10 goals past Luxembourg days after sealing qualification for the 2023 World Cup with a win in Austria.

As Lionesses boss Wiegman turns her mind to next summer’s huge tournament, Toone was one of 24 players the Dutch coach named to face October friendlies against the States and the Czech Republic.

It wasn’t long after the confetti had settled on the Wembley pitch this summer when England players began to eye their next challenge, and facing the current World Cup holders, the States, will give a great indication of just how competitive the Lionesses can be in 2023.

As two teams each on an impressive run of successive wins prepare to do battle, Toone is excited to face the test.

“We know the USA are the best in the world,” she told Sky Sports.

“We want to push ourselves against the best to really prepare for the summer.

“It's going to be a really competitive game and we now have a big target on our backs.

“Everyone wants to beat us, so it's an exciting game.”

England’s domestic league and national team have both enjoyed incredible growth and success since the Lionesses’ last World Cup tournament in 2019 - when the States knocked them out with a 2-1 semi-final win before going on to lift the trophy.

There’s always been scores to settle, Toone says, but this time, it’ll be different.

“I think women's football in general is growing and the competition is growing massively and we've always had that competitive game with the USA - we both want to win,” the Wigan-born attacker said.

“So I think this game coming up is going to be massive and we'll have a lot of support in the stadium, which only helps us.

“We just want to go out there and put on another big performance like we did throughout the summer and give everyone a good game to watch.”

Friday’s clash of champions became the fastest-selling women’s football match outside a major tournament as 65,000 Wembley seats sold within the first 24 hours.

To Toone, the appetite is understandable.

“I don't know if it surprised me, just because of how much support we had throughout the summer,” said Toone, whose skilful chipped goal opened the scoring in England’s historic final win.

“And obviously it being back at Wembley - last time we were out at Wembley was pretty good.

“So obviously everyone wants to be there, it's a massive game.”