Scotland captain Rachel Corsie will ensure her players treat England with the respect they deserve when the two meet for Sunday's World Cup opener in Nice. 

The 29-year-old was part of the team that lost 6-0 to England in their first game of Euro 2017 but is adamant that result will have no bearing on proceedings this time around. 

Scotland were without their midfield maestro Kim Little for the game two years ago and have arrived in France equipped with a full-strength squad and former captain turned manager Shelley Kerr at the helm. 

Kerr’s outfit are ranked 20th in the world ahead of the competition, 17 places behind the Lionesses, but have preparations set in place to upset Phil Neville’s team. 

“England are obviously third in the world and they have performed consistently well over the last few years to earn that respect and so we need to make sure that we give them that in the game,” said defender Corsie.

“From our point of view we have a game plan and we have an expectation within one another that we each have a job to do - we believe in ourselves and we know that if we perform at our best we can compete with those teams in the top bracket. 

“Honestly the game two years ago doesn’t provide any extra motivation at all - there has been a huge number of changes over with Shelley coming in and players moving clubs and with the squad as a whole.

“We are going into the game knowing what we need to get out of it.”

For manager Kerr the game at the Allianz Riviera stadium will bring memories flooding back after making her Scotland debut in a 3-0 defeat to England back in 1989. 

But this game has far more significance than just memories, with Sunday's clash making history as Scotland’s first ever game in the tournament and a first Scottish representation at any World Cup in over 20 years. 

And the 49-year-old former defender hopes that that the landmark achievement will help to shine a spotlight on Scottish women’s football for many more years to come. 

“To see the journey that Scottish women’s football has been on a big part of what I set out to do and that was to inspire the next generation,” said Kerr. 

“The whole country has been captivated by us getting to the Word Cup. 

“Our target is now to get out of the group stages and we know that in order to do that we need to win at least one game. 

“It is our first World Cup and our journey so far has been fantastic and we are now playing against a formidable England team who are ranked third in the world. 

“There is no doubt that there is more pressure on England but in terms of end results we are hoping to win the game.”

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