The Lionesses lock horns with the reigning champions at midnight BST on Thursday and while the skipper concedes Mark Sampson’s side will have to be at their very best to reach the final, insists they deserve to be given the chance.
Five MCWFC stars in Karen Bardsley, Toni Duggan have helped their country to reach the last four. Let’s remind ourselves how they made it to this stage...
France 1-0 England, Moncton
England’s Canadian adventure began with a disappointing defeat to the much-favoured France.
All five MCWFC stars featured in the clash but could not prevent the Lionesses from slipping to a narrow defeat, courtesy of Eugenie Le Sommer’s first-half strike.
Despite the result, the players asserted they remained positive on their chances of qualifying but were fully aware they needed a win in their next encounter to stand any chance of achieving that feat.
England 2-1 Mexico, Moncton
England clinched their first win of the tournament with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Mexico.
Goals from Fran Kirby and Karen Carney gave the Lionesses lift off in the competition but they had to survive a late scare, as Fabiola Ibarra pulled one back for the Mexicans late on to set up a nervy finish.
Fortunately, Sampson’s side hung on to claim a crucial triumph and leapfrog France into second spot in Group F.
England 2-1 Colombia, Montreal
England headed into their final group game against Colombia in the knowledge three points would guarantee qualification to the knock-out stages - and they got them.
A Karen Carney rebound and a Fara Williams penalty earned the win, though once again a late consolation though Lady Andrade set the nerves jangling.
Sampson’s side held firm once again though to send themselves through and set up a huge last 16 tie against Norway.
Norway 1-2 England, Ottawa
The last eight encounter against the Norwegians proved to be a wonderful night for our MCWFC stars.
Houghton and Bronze hit the headlines with a goal each - the right-back’s in particular was a worldie - to cancel out Solveig Gulbrandsen’s 54th-minute header and secure what had seemed an unlikely victory for the Lionesses.
The result was England’s first ever win in the knock-out stages and earned them a mouth-watering quarter-final meeting with the tournament hosts.
England 2-1 Canada, Vancouver
No-one had given England a chance of defeating Canada on their own turf. Backed by a vocal home following of 54,000, the home side had high expectations for this competition and looked set to deliver.
However, the Lionesses raced into a shock 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes to silence the red faithful and although Christine Sinclair had halved the deficit before half-time, the Canadians were unable to find the all-important equaliser.
Bronze proved to be the matchwinner again, scoring for the second successive game to put Sampson’s side into the last four for the first time.
Next up... Japan v England, Edmonton
England now face their toughest challenge yet when they come up against world champions, Japan.
Although the Lionesses defeated the holders in group stage of the 2011 tournament and are unbeaten in their last three meetings with the Nadeshiko, they will head into this clash as underdogs.
In a similar vein to Sampson’s side, Japan have picked up five consecutive one-goal victories in the competition. Norio Sasaki’s side like to take early leads and defend them so the first goal could be vital.
England certainly have the firepower to cause problems, so if they can focus on keeping a first clean sheet of the tournament and take their chances as they have done previously, there is no reason why they cannot go on to reach a first World Cup final...
You can see your World Cup heroes in action when the FA Women’s Super League resumes on Sunday 12 July.
MCWFC face Birmingham City Ladies at 2pm at the Academy Stadium and ticket information can be found here.
