Karen Carney has been calling on England boss Phil Neville to invite David Beckham out to France for some inspiration during the Women's World Cup knockout stages.

The Lionesses have booked their place in the last-16 of the competition in France -where they will meet Cameroon in Valenciennes on Sunday - after picking up maximum points from their group games.

Neville's side have been staying in the same hotel as Serena Williams this week in Nice, with Carney admitting to being starstruck by the female tennis icon.

England star Karen Carney admits she would go 'berserk' if David Beckham visited the squad

But Carney - England midfielder and Chelsea skipper - wants more, having urged Neville to arrange a visit from former Three Lions captain Beckham to inspire the side onto glory in France.

'I'm the one losing my head,' Carney told the Evening Standard. 'Phil is like, "You're fan-girling [over Williams] and you need to calm down." But to have someone three doors down in your hotel in Serena Williams is incredible.

'She's incredible. She's got her daughter on her hip. She's training while looking after her kid. It's hard. As a fellow female athlete it's inspirational. She's just a rockstar. But add David Beckham in there and I would go beserk!

'I ask Phil every day, "Is he coming? Is he coming?" He keeps telling me I need to calm down. When he posted about Ellen White, I was buzzing for Ellen.

Carney has urged Lionesses manager Phil Neville to arrange a special visit from Beckham

'I think Jill Scott is even more of a fan. She is obsessed with him. She's said to Phil that if he does come out, don't bring him in before a game as it would unnerve us. He's got to time it well — before the final hopefully!'

After topping the group with an immaculate three games and three victories, the fate of football has dealt the Lionesses a rather difficult hand.

So they will need as much inspiration as possible as they look to make history in France over the coming weeks.

The calibre of the England side is set to be tested, with a passage to the showpiece final which includes potential clashes against Cameroon, Australia, the United States and Germany.