Kim Little believes her Caledonian connection with Caroline Weir can spur Great Britain to all but clinch a quarter-final place in the women’s football tournament by throttling Japan this morning in Sapporo.
The Scotland and Arsenal midfielder claims it will be a “very proud moment” when she captains GB against the hosts, who drew their opener with Canada 1-1.
Her and Weir capitalised on their central roles in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Chile and although head coach Hege Riise has made much of the residual chemistry generated by her England team core and a sizeable contingent from Manchester City, the tartan tandem is a valuable asset too, Little asserts.
She said: “There are elements of connections from previous teams throughout the squad and mine and Caroline's is obviously from Scotland. The way we play football, it is quite easy to connect with each other on the pitch and see each other’s runs and combine movements quite well.
“And obviously having club team-mates as well makes it even more easier to slot on and find connections. It's been great to play with new players and some of the best in the world. We're all thriving off that and hoping we can get better and better throughout.”
Swapping Scotland for a unified British side is a trick Little previously had to perfect during a run to the last eight at London 2012.
“It felt very easy and smooth,” the 31-year-old admits of the first time around. The past insights, she revealed, was not something she shared with Weir in advance of arrival. “Because we've both played with a number of the players in different circumstances over the years. It's just quite natural.”
They both have prior with Japan from the 2019 World Cup when Scotland were beaten 2-0 in Rennes. Different time, different place, Little underlines.
Today’s foes remain gifted and a much greater threat than the Chileans. “And it's not just that technical ability, where they play in small spaces and combine. They also have strengths of going in behind. So it's just minimising their time on the ball and stop them making those forward passes as much as possible.”
The tragic sight of empty seats, set to be a feature of almost every venue at these Games, has hit home already to GB. Although it robs the hosts of a partisan advantage, it is nothing to celebrate, the skipper proclaims.
“All footballers would say they'd much rather play with a crowd regardless of whether they are for you or against you. So of course, that's a big miss with this tournament but it's a must with the current circumstances with the pandemic.
“We're going out there to perform. Our job is to do what we need to inside those white lines and to make sure we get the points. Yes the external things like fans can impact that. But right now it can't. So it's just about being in the space of mind that we get on the pitch and win the games regardless.”
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