Ellen White Interview on Women's Soccer United

Women's Soccer United caught up with England International Ellen White, the scorer of that spectacular lob at the women's World Cup 2011 against Japan. Ellen is enjoying a successful career with Arsenal Ladies in the WSL as well as representing her country.

WSU: This was your first World Cup. Was playing in this tournament everything that you imagined? What was your best experience?

ELLEN WHITE: Yes this was my 1st World Cup... I can't really explain how amazing the whole experience was to be honest!!! There was so much talk about the tournament possibly being the greatest Women's World Cup ever, and i think it really lived up to the hype! The organisation throughout the whole time we were involved in the tournament was second to none!! It was probably more than I imagined it would be, especially in terms of playing in front of between 19,000 and 26,000 people!! WOW!!

My best experience... um.... that's actually a really hard question!! I have a few that I will mention!! Coming on in the Mexico game to make my WWC debut was an amazing experience and moment!! Starting the NZ, Japan and France games was unbelievable, the music right before you walk out onto the pitch is spine tingling, goosebumps would be an understatement!! :)!! And finally I think scoring in the Japan game has to be one of the highlights for me! I cannot describe that moment, because it went in both slow motion and fast forward!! Also i got a lot of banter off the girls for the celebration...definitely a moment I wanted to share with all my team mates!! :)!!

WSU: Talk us through your fantastic goal against Japan, and how it felt watching it hit the back of the net in front of thousands!

ELLEN WHITE: I think firstly I have to say, what an amazing pass it was by Kaz Carney, her vision and execution of the pass was unbelievable!! To be honest I have no recollection of looking where the GK was or where the defenders were around me, i just knew I wanted to take it 1st time and try and lob the GK. I initially assumed the GK had caught the ball, but then I saw the net shaking, that's when i just start running to the bench!! Words cannot describe the feeling of scoring in WC in front of that many people! Now i must work harder!!

WSU: England were knocked out of the women’s World Cup in a cruel fashion, by a penalty shootout against France, how have the team picked themselves up from this experience?

ELLEN WHITE: It was devastating to lose on penalties to France, because honestly I believed we could win the game!! But that's football and sometimes things happen to make you stronger! I still feel pretty gutted and relive parts of the game in my head wishing i would have put the chance away in ET, but football is a cruel game!! As a team we have all gone back home whether in England or USA and are back to our clubs as our season the FAWSL starts again in a week!! Definitely the hunger to start playing for Arsenal again is here!! :)!!

WSU: What do you feel about the support (both from fans and media) for England women at the women’s World Cup and is there anything you would you like to see improved for future tournaments?

ELLEN WHITE: I think Germany conducted an amazing WWC, in terms of stadiums, hotels, filling stadiums and everything else!! We all fell in love with our security women and liason officer, and our coach (with england on the side), we are easily pleased and amused!! :)!!

The support we received as a team was overwhelming, so many good luck messages and media reports and attention!! I think it will only help the women's game in England!! The fact that the BBC covered all England games was a massive deal for us and our QF match was on BBC2 which means so many more people would have been able to watch it!! Fingers crossed the support and media coverage continues into the 2nd half of the WSL and also for women's football and women's sport in general!!

WSU: Do you think your experiences in this tournament will influence how the England team prepare for their Euro 2013 campaign?

ELLEN WHITE: I think every experience we have had as a team have impacted on how we have prepared for the next game!! Our staff are always diligent and meticulous in our preparation but obviously there are always things we can do differently as a team and want to change!! I think it was
such an amazing experience, that you can only look back and learn from it and take that heart ache and disappointment and ultimately use it to our advantage in the upcoming Euro's.

WSU: Many of the England players are playing or have played in the WPS. Do you ever plan on playing in the WPS at all and what would be your ideal situation if you were to?

ELLEN WHITE: I definitely think if i were ever to be asked to play in the WPS I would consider it, how could you not!! But obviously at the moment i am whole heartily an Arsenal player and loving every minute!! The WPS league has has some troubles over the last couple of years and obviously you would have to take into consideration the stability of it, as well as the fact of moving so far away from home! But you have to also think about the amount of amazing players that play in the league and the standard of football out there!!

WSU: How are the preparations going for the second half of the WSL? What are the noticeable differences playing in the Super League compared to the women’s premier league?

ELLEN WHITE: The team have been back in training for a while, doing pre season whilst the WC has been going on!! I trained this week with the team and we have 1 more week together before the start of the season!! The girls are all looking sharp and i'm loving being back part of the team again!! I think the noticeable differences so far would have to be the number of people coming to the games, hopefully that will continue, especially on the back of the WWC. I think the spread and quality of players in the teams has also been noticeable, making the games and league so far a bit more competitive! Fingers crossed the competitiveness and support continues going into the 2nd half of the season!! We (Arsenal) are looking forward to the start and we will definitely be giving it our all!! :)!!

WSU: Thank you Ellen, for taking time to answer our questions. We wish you continued luck and success in your career.

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Ellen White Interview on Women's Soccer United

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