England captain Steph Houghton says the Lionesses are ready to “do something special” at the Women’s World Cup this summer.

Phil Neville named his 23-player squad for the tournament in France earlier this month and they have warm-up games against Denmark in Walsall on Saturday and New Zealand in Brighton a week later before opening their campaign against Scotland in Nice on 9 June.

England came third at the 2015 World Cup, got to the semi-finals of Euro 2017, and in March won the four-team SheBelieves Cup for the first time. Houghton, skipper throughout, said on Thursday when asked if the current squad was equipped to win this World Cup: “Yes. I’ve been in plenty of squads in terms of World Cups and European Championships and all have had different strengths.

“And I think for this one especially we have the right blend of youth and experience, we have players who have played in top pressure games where you have to go and win, and I feel we have a squad that wants to go and win and has that winning mentality to go and do something special in France.”

Regarding what the team winning the tournament would do for women’s football in England, the defender said: “It would be absolutely amazing. It would be a dream come true for us as players but for the game as a whole, I think you saw what happened in 2015 – success does bring interest and allow young girls to dream of being a footballer, and now there’s a pathway to go and do that.

England's Women's World Cup squad Show all 24 1 /24 England's Women's World Cup squad England's Women's World Cup squad England World Cup squad The Lionesses squad for this summer's World Cup in France has been announced. This is who has made the cut Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Karen Bardsley (Manchester City) Manchester City Women goalkeeper Karen Bardsley celebrates with the trophy after the Women's FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 4, 2019. See PA story SOCCER Women Final. Photo credit should read: John Walton/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. John Walton PA England's Women's World Cup squad Mary Earps (Wolfsburg) SWINDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Aitana Bonmati of Spain takes the ball past Mary Earps of England during the International Friendly between England Women and Spain Women at County Ground on April 09, 2019 in Swindon, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) Michael Steele Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Carly Telford (Chelsea) Jodie Taylor and Carly Telford of England celebrate victory after the 2019 SheBelieves Cup match Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Millie Bright (Chelsea) KINGSTON UPON THAMES, ENGLAND - APRIL 28: Millie Bright of Chelsea during the Women UEFA Champions League semi final match between Chelsea and Olympique Lyonnais on April 28, 2019 in Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Lucy Bronze (Lyon) KINGSTON UPON THAMES, ENGLAND - APRIL 28: Lucy Bronze of Olympique Lyonnais and Hannah Blundell of Chelsea hug after the Women UEFA Champions League semi final match between Chelsea and Olympique Lyonnais on April 28, 2019 in Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty England's Women's World Cup squad Rachel Daly (Houston Dash) SWINDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 09: Maria Caldentey of Spain and Rachel Daly of England compete for the ball during the International Friendly between England Women and Spain Women at the County Ground on April 09, 2019 in Swindon, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) Alex Davidson Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Alex Greenwood (Manchester United) File photo dated 31-08-2018 of England Women's Steph Houghton (right) and Alex Greenwood celebrate victory after the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying, group 1 match. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday March 7, 2019. Manchester City and England captain Steph Houghton says the thought of being an inspiration to young girls is very much part of her drive for success with club and country. See PA story SOCCER Houghton. Photo credit should read Nick Potts/PA Wire. Nick Potts PA England's Women's World Cup squad Steph Houghton (Manchester City) LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Steph Houghton of Manchester City Women poses with the Women's FA Cup Trophy following her team's victory in the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Abbie McManus (Manchester City) LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Abbie McManus of Manchester City Women battles for possession with Alisha Lehmann of West Ham United Ladies during the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) Naomi Baker Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Demi Stokes (Manchester City) LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Demi Stokes of Manchester City during the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Leah Williamson (Arsenal) BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: Leah Williamson of Arsenal reacts during the WSL match between Arsenal Women and Birmingham Ladies at Meadow Park on November 4, 2018 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Karen Carney (Chelsea) KINGSTON UPON THAMES, ENGLAND - APRIL 28: Karen Carney of Chelsea during the Women UEFA Champions League semi final match between Chelsea and Olympique Lyonnais on April 28, 2019 in Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Jade Moore (Reading) Soccer Football - Women's International Friendly - England v Spain - The County Ground, Swindon, Britain - April 9, 2019 England's Jade Moore in action with Spain's Amanda Sampedro during the match Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs MATTHEW CHILDS Action Images via Reuters England's Women's World Cup squad Jill Scott (Manchester City) Soccer Football - Women's FA Cup Final - West Ham United v Manchester City - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 4, 2019 Manchester City's Jill Scott in action with West Ham's Claire Rafferty Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra PETER CZIBORRA Action Images via Reuters England's Women's World Cup squad Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham) Arisa Matsubara of Japan shoots past Lucy Staniforth of England Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Georgia Stanway (Manchester City) LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 04: Georgia Stanway of Manchester City during the Women's FA Cup Final match between Manchester City Women and West Ham United Ladies at Wembley Stadium on May 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Catherine Ivill Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Keira Walsh (Manchester City) MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 14: Keira Walsh of Manchester City Women is tackled by Fran Kirby of Chelsea Women during the Women's FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester City Women and Chelsea Ladies at The Academy Stadium on April 14, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Alex Livesey Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Toni Duggan (Barcelona) Barcelona's English forward Toni Duggan takes a selfie photo with young supporters as she celebrates winning the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final second leg football match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the Mini Estadi in Barcelona on April 28, 2019. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images JOSEP LAGO AFP/Getty England's Women's World Cup squad Fran Kirby (Chelsea) Lyon's Welsh midfielder Jess Fishlock (R) tackles Chelsea's English striker Fran Kirby during the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final 2nd leg, football match between Chelsea and Lyon on April 28, 2019 at Cherry Red Records Stadium in Kingston-upon-Thames in south-west London. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images ADRIAN DENNIS AFP/Getty Images England's Women's World Cup squad Beth Mead (Arsenal) Arsenal's Beth Mead celebrates with a life long Arsenal fan after winning the FA Women's Super League at full time during the FA Women's Super League match at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday April 28, 2019. See PA story SOCCER Brighton Women. Photo credit should read: Mark Kerton/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. 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“For us, our focus is on doing as well as we possibly can and making sure that, no matter what, we give it our everything when we’re over there.”

England’s squad includes two players who featured in last weekend’s Champions League final, Lyon’s Lucy Bronze and Barcelona’s Toni Duggan. And Lyon, who won 4-1 to claim the title for a fourth successive year, this week signed England forward Nikita Parris. All three players were previously with Houghton at Manchester City.

Houghton said: “It’s important for Manchester City to keep the best players, but at the same time, as a team-mate of Nikita and a friend, I wish her all the best at Lyon.

“And for us to have some of our squad playing for the likes of Lyon, Barca, or in America, we’re all playing good football games, in high-pressured environments, and when we come back together with England that only drives the standard of our training. It pushes you be a better player, playing against those kind of players, so it can can only be a good thing for the national team.”

The squad features two players nominated for last year’s inaugural Women’s Ballon d’Or in Bronze and Chelsea’s Fran Kirby.

Kirby has had a 2018-19 disrupted by injuries, including hamstring and knee issues, but said on Thursday of her fitness: “It completely has been dealt with. I think now I’m in the best shape I have been all year. It’s the first time this year really that I’ve been able to play without any pain. So I’m in a good place looking forward to the World Cup.”

The England squad spent much of the past 24 hours in the company of the Marines, sleeping in tents on Wednesday night. Goalkeeper Karen Bardsley described the team-building exercise as a “fantastic experience”.

She told Sky Sports: “They’re a group of really inspiring guys who have been through so much. Their stories are just filled with courage, determination and resilience. They’ve been through more than we could possibly imagine.

“Trying to pull the parallels from that – I thought it was going to be tough at first but actually, on a very different scale, they’re quite similar. We spent the night in a tent surrounded by fire, we made our own dinner, we had our own tasks that we needed to fulfil but overall I think it was a fantastic experience and I’m really glad I did it.”