Phil Neville: ‘I’ve seen nothing in this tournament that gives me fear’

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The England coach’s rotation policy, so successful so far in the World Cup, is a matter of common sense rather than science

The hotel’s breakfast buffet is still doing brisk trade when Phil Neville takes a seat in a quiet corner and reflects on the night before. England’s coach reveals that his reward for choreographing the 2-0 victory against Japan in Nice last week was a rare exemption from a daily 6am run. “I went for a swim instead,” says the now deeply tanned Lionesses coach. “It was great.”

It is not yet 10am in the wooded hills above Antibes but already a searingly hot sun warms the circular pool visible through the plate glass doors behind him. Not that Neville is in holiday mode. His side have won three games out of three and, having topped their group, face Cameroon in Sunday’s last-16 match at the other end of France in Valenciennes, but nagging doubts linger. The Lionesses are a little goal-shy while passages of convincing play are sometimes tempered by prolonged slapdash interludes.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jun/22/phil-neville-interview-england-women-world-cup

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