Ellen White sends a defiant message of support to her Lionesses teammates

Ellen White insists the Lionesses will roar back to their clinical best once their hotly-anticipated Women’s World Cup campaign gets underway, writes Sportsbeat's Milly McEvoy.

Sarina Wiegman’s European champions face minnows Haiti in their Group D opener Down Under on Saturday morning but head into the contest without a goal in their last three matches.

England drew a blank in a 2-0 defeat against Australia – their first loss under Wiegman that also ended a 30-game unbeaten run – before failing to find the net in 0-0 stalemates with both Canada and Portugal.

However, this slight concern on the back of unprecedented success is testament to the transformation that the Lionesses and women and girls football has seen in recent years, in part as a result of the £50 million of funding enabled by National Lottery players in the last 10 years alone.

Lionesses record goalscorer White, who racked up 52 international strikes before her retirement after England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, endured a similarly barren personal spell in the run-up to that competition and has no concerns about the usually prolific side’s uncharacteristic lack of recent cutting edge.

“I'm not worried, it's three games,” said the former Manchester City and Arsenal forward, speaking at a pre-World Cup event at grassroots London club Actonians Girls FC – who are one of nearly 200 clubs to benefit from National Lottery funding in order to form new girls teams following the success of the Euros last year.

“I remember I didn't score for three games in the lead-up to the Euros and got a bit slated, so I'm not worried at all.

“We've got more than enough talent and we're creating chances. The two games when we played Portugal and Canada, obviously it would have been nice to score goals.

“But it was more about getting minutes for the girls and getting minutes together and understanding those connections and combinations together again.

“I think we'll be more than ready and fired up – their training looks like it's going well and the camp looks really good.

“I think we'll create lots of chances and hopefully get some goals and a good win against Haiti.

On the eve of England’s World Cup campaign commencing, White was back in the shadow of Wembley Stadium – where the Lionesses lifted the Euros trophy last summer – to preview the tournament and celebrate the inspirational impact of the Euros win, with Actonians Girls FC.

They are a thriving club with over 250 women and girls training and playing across nine youth teams, Wildcats, four senior teams and recreational sessions - and a new u9s side created thanks to funding from The National Lottery and its players.

England begin their World Cup campaign against the Caribbean nation in Brisbane before facing Denmark and China later in the group.

With Beth Mead ruled out of the tournament – along with captain Leah Williamson and midfielder Fran Kirby – with an ACL injury, either Alessia Russo or Rachel Daly are set to spearhead England’s attack Down Under.

And White, 34, is backing both the newly-signed Arsenal star and versatile the Aston Villa ace to serve as more than capable understudies for the Euro 2022 golden boot winner.

She added: “Russo has scored some big goals for Manchester United and obviously she's got a big move coming up with Arsenal.

“She started a number of games since I retired at No.9 for England and then scored some good goals and performed well.

“And obviously Rachel Daly has done well for Villa this season as well.

“And Beth England can come on as well and make a big difference. But whoever is selected to be the No.9, I think they’ll do an amazing job and have got my full backing.

“Because it's a tough position to play, I know that, but I think whoever takes on that role will do amazingly well, and I'll be supporting them all the way.”

England may be faced with a tough run in Australia with Olympic gold medallists Canada, Euro 2022 runners-up Germany and the highly-rated co-hosts all possible opponents in the early knockout stages.

And while White would love to see her former teammates go all the way, she is advising them to stop and enjoy the journey.

“First and foremost, the goal is to top the group and to get out of our group,” she said.

“I think it's still a tough group to get out of because every team that we're playing is a very different style of play, but I'm hoping that they get to the latter stages.

“But winning a major tournament isn't easy. It's very hard to win a major tournament, so many things have to go the right way, you can play the best game of your life and still not win.

“So for me, I think it's for them to try and express themselves with passion and enjoy it and hopefully we will see them in the final.

“But it's for them just to go and express themselves and play well.”

National Lottery players have transformed women and girls’ football in the UK, with more than £50 million invested in the last 10 years alone. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen