Comments from Team GB women’s football team following their 2-0 victory over Chile in their opening group match in Sapporo. Both goals scored by Ellen White.
Steph Houghton, captain
Age: 33 Hometown: Durham
On the performance
“When you get into a competition, it’s really important you win that first game.
“We knew it was going to be tense in that first half with both teams finding their feet and rhythm.
“There were passages of play where we really showed our potential going forward and to keep a clean sheet is massively important.
“There’s still a lot of stuff to improve on but three points on the board, we’re really pleased.”
On taking the knee before the match
“As players in Great Britain we’ve been taking the knee in club and international matches and we felt strongly as a group that we wanted to show support for those affected by discrimination and equality.
“It was a proud moment because the Chile players took the knee too to show how united we are as sport.”
Ellen White
Age: 32 Hometown: Aylesbury
On her goals
“I’m obviously delighted to contribute to the team winning, to score two goals. I feel really proud to open the Olympics with Team GB.
“It was a great headed knockdown by Lauren Hemp for the first one, and then an amazing cross by Lucy Bronze for the second one.
“Collectively as a whole squad and staff, we’ve worked tremendously hard up to this moment and I feel proud of the whole squad.”
On next matches against Japan and Canada
“It doesn’t stop here for us, we now look forward to facing Japan.
“I feel really delighted with where I am at, at the moment, but I feel that there is more to come. As a squad, I feel we can still grow and get better as the tournament goes on.”
Hege Riise, coach
On Ellen White
“We trust Ellen to score goals and she does. But it’s not only the goals, she fights hard, she works for the 90 minutes to get the goals or other players in.
“She’s important for this team and brings a lot of confidence to the team.
On the performance
“I think how we started the game was exceptional. The first 30 minutes was the best we’ve played and we kept it going. It wasn’t pretty for the whole game but fought and managed to get the win that we deserved and we wanted.
“We have been waiting for this game for a long time and were so eager to get started. You can see the energy on the field.
“Getting a good start, getting a win, keeping them away from our goal and scoring two goals, that’s a statement for the next games coming up.”
On next game with Japan
“We have been following Japan for a long time, they have developed and have a style of play that fits them. They have combination play and have been really good lately, scoring a lot of goals leading up to this Olympics.
“We expect the next game to be just as hard and will prepare for that.”
