While England's men attempt to scramble into next year's European Championships, the nation's women are preparing for the World Cup finals in China. Scott Wilson talks to two North-East members of the squad.

AS the furrows that have become etched in Steve McClaren's forehead testify, it has not been a good 12 months for England's football team. Unless, of course, you happen to be a woman.

While England's men have lurched from one crisis to another, the nation's women have enjoyed their most successful season ever.

Thumping victories over Russia, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Iceland have taken Hope Powell's side to their highest position in the world rankings and, tomorrow, England will kick off their first World Cup campaign since 1995 when they face Japan in Shanghai.

It is just a shame that nobody seems to know anything about it. While the state of Steven Gerrard's toe was discussed at length last week, England's mainstream media were happy to ignore one of the biggest footballing stories involving a team from these shores. The celebration of hard-earned success, it seems, is far less appealing than the possibility of yet more failure.

"It's a little bit annoying, but we've pretty much got used to it," said Carly Telford, England's second-choice goalkeeper who was born and raised in Tanfield and is a product of Sunderland women's football club's youth system.

"None of us think we get the coverage or the recognition we deserve, and there's obviously no comparison with everything that happens with the men's game.

"But it's slowly starting to change and making it to the World Cup is another massive part in that. The games are going to be live on BBC TV and hopefully they'll start to capture people's imagination.''

For the players themselves, this month's competition is the culmination of two years' hard work that saw England finish at the top of a qualifying pool that also included France and Holland.

For the Football Association, however, it is merely the beginning of a recruitment drive that could guarantee the long-term survival of a game that continues to suffer vast fluctuations of fortune.

On the one hand, football is now the leading female participation sport in England, with last year's Active People survey revealing that 250,000 women and 1.1million girls play some form of the game.

On the other, though, the sport's flagship Women's Premier League continues to suffer from a lack of support and investment, and around a third of the squad that will compete in China are forced to combine their football career with full-time or part-time employment.

"I spent last year at the FA's football development centre at Loughborough, so I didn't have to worry too much about work," said Telford, who is one of three North-Easterners in England's World Cup squad along with former Sunderland team-mate Jill Scott and Hartlepool-born defender Lindsay Johnson.

"But that's finished now and I'm back up in the North-East. Once the World Cup is over and everything has died down, I know I'm going to have to start looking for a job. I can only hope that job is flexible enough for me to continue with my football.

"Obviously, the dream is that one day we'll have our own professional league that'll allow us to do nothing but play football. The United States are re-establishing their professional league in 2009 and, if that's a success, maybe it'll persuade other countries to follow suit.

"For that to happen, though, we need to attract more young girls into the game. The FA are trying to be really pro-active in that and, as members of the England squad, we know we have a part to play."

Success in China would obviously help, but England face a daunting task in a group that includes European Champions Germany, South American seeds Argentina and tomorrow's opponents, Japan.

For Telford and Scott, both still to turn 21, the opportunity to be involved in a World Cup at such an early stage of their career is a prize enough in itself.

But after spending a fortnight honing their skills in a pre-tournament training camp in Macau, the duo are confident that England are capable of springing a surprise over the course of the next fortnight.

"Just being here is a bit of a dream come true," said Scott, an all-action midfielder who previously captained England Under-19s and only made her senior debut last August.

"Four or five years ago, I was still kicking a ball about on the playing fields at Sunderland, so to think I'm going to be playing in a World Cup finals is just incredible.

"It's only when you get here that you realise how big a deal it all is. We were pretty much kept to ourselves in Macau, so it didn't really feel like you were preparing for a World Cup finals. But as soon as we were welcomed at the airport in China and saw the supporters and all the World Cup banners, everything went up another gear.

"We know we've got three difficult games in the group, but we've been together for four or five weeks now and the spirit in the camp is amazing. I think all of us think we're capable of doing something pretty special."