Steph Houghton is optimistic England can sustain the momentum they worked so hard to create at the World Cup by establishing themselves as one of the favourites to win Euro 2017.

“We want to be the best in Europe,” said the captain, whose team defeated Germany in Edmonton in the third-place play-off at Canada 2015. “There’s no hiding that. We know that we’ve got the players to do it but, having played France, Norway and Germany at the World Cup, we also know there a lot of tough European teams out there so it definitely won’t be easy.”

A much more straightforward-looking fixture awaits the 27-year-old in Tallinn on Monday when Mark Sampson’s side take on an Estonia team managed by Keith Boanas, an Englishman previously in charge of Charlton and Millwall.

It is England’s first qualifier for Euro 2017 but Sampson’s challenge will be to prevent his players coasting in a group also containing Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Belgium. If England do not top it comfortably en route to the finals in the Netherlands, serious questions can be expected.

Houghton appreciates no one can afford to bask in the achievement of attaining the best World Cup finish by any England team since Sir Alf Ramsey’s class of 1966. “As long as we keep our feet on the ground and work hard I’m sure we can improve on what we did in the summer,” she said. “We’re all feeling confident and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be after what we achieved in Canada.

“People are still coming up to me in the street and congratulating me. It’s a special feeling. We were on a massive journey and we managed to achieve something no other England team has done since 1966. Now we feel that we’ve still got so much more to give. I know how ambitious this squad is. We always want to be the best. This is the start of a new journey.”

It will be an odyssey in which England no longer rank as perennial underdogs and underachievers. “We’re one of the teams to beat now and that’s a great pressure to have on you,” said Houghton. “But it’s a pressure we should embrace. It makes you want to improve. We know what a good team we are and are stronger because of the World Cup, where we beat some of the best sides in the world.”

With several of England’s Canada 2015 stars recovering from injury, Sampson has made seven changes to the squad which flew back from Edmonton while also offering a first call-up for Isobel Christiansen, the Manchester City mdifielder, and recalling Amy Turner, Demi Stokes and Jess Clarke – all overlooked in the summer. Controversially, there is no place for Sunderland’s Beth Mead, the WSL top scorer.

With Claire Rafferty sidelined by a minor knee problem, Alex Greenwood, the youngest member of the Canada 2015 squad, is likely to start at left-back in Tallinn. “There are new expectations now,” said the 22-year-old Notts County defender. “We’ve come on as a country and we want to win everything we play in. We are arrogant – but in a good way.”