England star Jill Scott says Cameroon hell proves Lionesses can go for glory in France
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JILL SCOTT reckons England’s Cameroon hell proved they have the composure to grab glory in France.
Scott is the ticking heart of Phil Neville’s Lionesses and her 18th World Cup game on Sunday took her above Peter Shilton’s appearance record.
Her typical calmness rubbed off on team-mates — despite the anarchy they faced in Valenciennes.
Cameroon crunched into horror tackles, spat at Toni Duggan and even looked like refusing to restart the game as they disputed VAR decisions in their 3-0 defeat.
With the odds against skipper Steph Houghton being fit to take on Norway in tomorrow’s quarter-final, Scott is ready to lead by example.
The midfielder, 32, said: “We talked about being logical and trying to control our emotions.
“But it’s easy to sit in a meeting and talk about not reacting.
“It’s a completely different scenario when you face something like we did against Cameroon.
'MORE EMOTIONAL NOW'
“People say experienced players should be able to handle it — but I’ve played 140 times for England and never been involved in a game like that.
“We were really put to the test. But the girls handled it fantastically.
";We kept our cool on a really hot day and we’re in a better place than I thought we were.
“We know that we’ve got that and these games are going to get even more emotional, even tougher.”
Houghton joined team-mates for a stretching session on the beach yesterday but remains a doubt.
Alexandra Takounda’s shocking stamp on the defender’s right ankle had ruled Houghton out of training this week.
Norway keeper Ingrid Hjelmseth warned England their superstar status will count for nothing in Le Havre tomorrow.
Whilst the Lionesses all have professional contracts, only eight from Norway’s 23-player squad have the same.
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Hjelmseth, 39, who works as a software engineer in Oslo, said: “When we are at a major tournament we have the same rest and we are all professional.
“I’ve been playing in Norway for 20 years and I’m still working part-time, training in the morning, going to work, then training again in the afternoon.
“I think I’m performing pretty well — so it is still possible without being a professional.”