Phil Neville Insists England Have 'Long Way to Go' in Pursuit of World Cup Glory

England beat Scotland 2-1 in the opening game of their 2019 World Cup campaign, but manager Phil Neville was not entirely happy with what he saw from the

England beat Scotland 2-1 in the opening game of their 2019 World Cup campaign, but manager Phil Neville was not entirely happy with what he saw from the Lionesses.

Goals from Nikita Parris and Ellen White in the first half gave England victory, as Claire Emslie's second half reply was not enough to earn the Scots a point in the opening game of Group D.

#ENG WIN!

Two goals in the first half give @Lionesses the three points, but @ScotlandNT will take a lot of positives from their #FIFAWWC debut! #ENGSCO pic.twitter.com/AVGo40uuDb

— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) June 9, 2019

Neville felt his side didn't do enough to finish off and kill the game, admitting, as quoted by the Telegraph, that he wants to maintain driving high standards throughout the 90 minutes.

"We played really well in the first half. We spoke all week about the style of play we wanted and they delivered and I was pleased with that. 

"We wanted a fast start, to be really adventurous, we knew Scotland would sit back so we pressed them really high. 

"I suppose the disappointment is in the second half we needed to keep the ball better. I suppose the legs get heavy. But we have to keep driving standards.”

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Neville continued by refusing to lay blame at the feet of Steph Houghton, who gave away the ball cheaply in the lead up to Scotland's goal, or any other player - though he admit his nerves as manager were shredded by the "horrible" 2-1 scoreline.

He added: "We tried to play out from the back. Even the goal, we gave it away trying to play the pass we have practised. I just want us to play well.

"2-1 is a horrible score on the touchline, You think it only takes one little moment. You see Cuthbert crossing the ball in the 89th minute and you worry. But the best thing for us, it keeps us on our toes, it means we still have lots to do.”

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Next up, England face Argentina, who play their first game of the tournament against Japan on Monday evening, with Neville no doubt hoping for improvement in the Lionesses performance.