England legend Jill Scott says Saturday’s third-place play-off against Sweden could be her last World Cup game.
Scott is England’s most-capped World Cup player ever, having surpassed Peter Shilton in France, and she made her 20th appearance in Tuesday’s semi-final defeat to the USA.
At 32, the 142-cap midfielder has played in four World Cups but said: “I feel okay at the minute, but would it be realistic to say another four years? I’d be 36, so it could be my last [World Cup game] on Saturday.
“I don’t really like to think too far ahead and my aim was just to get through this one and then decide after that what the plan is. I still feel I can compete at this level.”
After Saturday’s match in Nice, England do not have another competitive fixture until a home European Championship in 2021, but Scott can expect to be included in Phil Neville’s Team GB squad for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
“Yeah, that’s definitely tempting,” said the Manchester City star. “Qualification for the Olympics wasn’t an easy task when you look at the teams that got knocked out, so that’s another thing we can feel proud of. But, at the moment, everything just seems to hurt. But a home Euros would be fantastic. Hopefully, we’ve gained a few supporters on the way and they’ll stick with us.”
Baroness Sue Campbell, who runs women’s football at the FA, has backed Neville to lead the sides in Tokyo and the Euros, saying: “He signed up to a three-year journey and seems committed to it. We would love him to do it.”
