Mark Sampson is nervous and refuses to hide it. In a matter of hours the biggest game of his fledgling managerial career will kick off with a perhaps surprising amount at stake.
When England face France in their opening Group F fixture of Canada 2015 in Moncton on Tuesday, Sampson hopes to see 18 months of hard work as the national women’s coach come to fruition.
Back at Football Association headquarters in London, the accountants will be anxiously wondering whether the millions of pounds the ruling body has invested in developing the women’s game are about to be translated into tangible success at a major tournament.
Although defeat against an excellent France side may not necessarily be fatal to England’s chance of progression to the knockout phase, a poor display would raise all sorts of awkward questions.
No wonder the 32-year-old Welshman seems slightly tense as he chats in a quiet corner of a hotel restaurant in this small, little-known city close to the Atlantic coast.
If Lee Child were to set one of his best-selling thrillers in Canada rather than the US, Moncton seems precisely the type of place his hero, Jack Reacher, would relish but it remains an unlikely backdrop for such a pivotal moment in an England coach’s life.
“I think nerves are a good thing,” says Sampson. “If you haven’t got any nerves at an event like this it probably doesn’t mean enough to you. It’s a question of how we use that nervous energy, that pressure. But, you know what, we’ve worked hard all our lives to get here, this is the pressure we wanted, these are the nerves we wanted. We’re really sensing and smelling this as an opportunity. We’re going to try to use the nerves as positive energy. This is a big challenge but I think we’re in a good place to meet it.”
Since succeeding Hope Powell, Sampson has introduced sports psychologists and corporate-trained motivational specialists to the England camp. A once reputedly divided squad have not only undergone an array of bonding exercises and individual character profiling but are also now colour coded as to their personality types. At times a likable coach can sound slightly too “on message” – at one point he claims he feels he was “born to do this job” – but there is no doubting his sincerity or, significantly, the Lionesses’ loyalty towards him.
Everyone is acutely aware that getting past the quarter-finals for the first time in a World Cup would provide the English Women’s Super League with an immense, much-needed boost. Although that domestic competition is increasingly staffed by full-time professional players, crowds remain stubbornly low, struggling to reach the 1,000 mark.
“We’re aware of our responsibility,” says Sampson. “We’re aware of the potential huge opportunity to inspire the next generation of women footballers and to push the game to the next level.”
Even so, with group games against Mexico and Colombia to follow, a narrow loss on Tuesday would be disappointing rather than disastrous.
“Getting a good result against France would be a massive plus but our objective is to get through to the knockout stages,” he says. “Some of the best third-place finishers will go through as well as the top two in each group. So we have a back-up plan. France is a game we want to win but if we get beaten we’re not going to cry about it. We’ll move on. We’ve got to be able to deal with setbacks.”
England lost to France in the quarter-finals of Germany 2011 and the group stage of Euro 2013 but Sampson is confident his controversial belief in rotation, allied to a refreshing tactical flexibility, can correct things.
“We can play a 4-3-3, a flat 4-4-2, a 4-4-2 diamond,” says the popular figure who began his career working under Roberto Martínez at Swansea and later managed Bristol Academy. “That give us a real advantage because the players are very comfortable with those formations and we’ll certainly be implementing every single one at different stages during this tournament. It’s great to have those weapons in our armoury.”
After breezing through qualifying, friendly defeats against Germany, USA and Canada have forced Sampson to modify the attacking, sweet-passing instincts he shares with Martínez.
A further compromise has resulted in his initial habit of naming teams – and he rarely selects the same side twice in succession – only hours before kick-off jettisoned in the wake of lobbying from the players. “We’ve committed to letting the squad know the team two days before games here,” he says.
“We’re open to feedback. It’s great we can have conversations with players to find solutions to problems and do the best thing for the team.
“Every decision we’ve made has been in connection with the players. My dream is that they lead this team. They’re the ones on the pitch – they know my thinking and they’re now in a good place to make important decisions on the field.”
He must impose his authority on sometimes slightly older women but apparently possesses the necessary poise and overall maturity. “I don’t look that young,” Sampson jokes. “The players keep reminding me about my bald patch and how much the stress is ageing me but being 32 is certainly not a problem. Relationships are really good. I’m very fortunate to work with a group of players that would love nothing more than to win this tournament for their country.”
If the Lionesses are eager to please, their coach is anxious to impress his harshest critic. “My father’s flown out with my mother and my girlfriend, so it’s a bit more added pressure because he’s my biggest judge,” he says. “You guys [journalists] think you’re tough but wait until you see him. I did an interview recently saying that, by the age of 12, I knew I wasn’t going to be good enough to be a footballer. The next time I went home my father reminded me he could have told me that when I was six.”
Wowing his Dad on Tuesday will not be easy. “France are probably ahead of us at this moment,” Sampson adds. “We have to make sure we’re at our absolute best. When we’re at our best, we’re at their level and can win this match.
“We’ve got to be streetwise, competitive and confident. We’ve got to concentrate. We need to show those qualities because I certainly feel we have the talent and the tactics to defeat the top teams.”
