England in ‘really good place’

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Houghton played every minute of England’s Canada 2015 campaign as the Lionesses became the most successful England team since the 1966 Wold Cup winners following the 1-0 win over Germany which sealed third spot.

It was England’s first win against Germany in 21 attempts and followed on from England reaching the semi-finals for the first time and winning their first ever Women’s World Cup knockout match.

And England and Manchester City Women’s skipper Houghton hopes the momentum around the national side can translate into the growth of the domestic game.

“I think the standard of the WSL (Women’s Super League) has increased within each season. Clubs are taking it very seriously in terms of with allowing players to train full-time,” Houghton told Sky Sports News HQ.

“I think a massive part of players wanting to stay in England was to be able to be on the ball every day, playing the sport you love and being able to class it as a job and dedicating your whole life to it.

“So I think in terms of how we are progressing I think we are in a really good place.

“I’m not going to say that everything is perfect in the WSL because nothing is perfect. Every single season we as players, but also clubs and also the FA as a whole, have to look at how to progress and potentially get the standard even higher than it is now.

“But we also need to have a continuity of fixtures and draw big crowds in. We have to look at the overall game and see how we progress and improve year by year.”