England need to beat New Zealand - but can they handle the pressure?

Hope Powell didn't quite say it is a must-win game – "In our minds we've got to get three points, so if you want to call that a must-win game that's up to you" – but anything other than a win against New Zealand on Friday evening would pile the pressure on the final game against Japan. The England coach has been at pains to point out that her team have bounced back from slow starts in tournaments before and that experience, along with their 3-0 win over the Ferns in a friendly at the Peace Cup in October, means England feel they are prepared for the challenge. "You don't want to be complacent. We won the second game 3-0 [the official game at the tournament was a 0-0 draw] and because of that we know you can beat them. But this tournament, when points are at stake and the stadium is full – you've got to experience it to understand it. It's challenging. "It's very, very competitive. The pressures are different, how you manage it is different, when there's 18,000 people when you're used to five, when there's 70,000 and you're used to 10. If you've never experienced that you'll never appreciate it. You can appreciate it watching but you'll never know what it's like on the pitch." The New Zealand coach, Jon Herdman, feels his side can spring a surprise, having narrowly been beaten by Japan in the opening game. "They're two different opponents. Completely different," said Herdman, originally from Newcastle but now a committed Kiwi. "When you come against England you know typically what you're going to get – they have a style, they have an approach. Is it containable? Yes. Is it controllable? Yes. Do they have some key players? Yes. Will they rely on those players? They will. But we feel we can contain whatever they throw at us. The challenge for us will be performing on the night." Talking points • I'm interested to hear the general consensus on Eni Aluko's Twitter brouhaha. A perfectly acceptable response to online abuse or unnecessarily provocative? • The England squad will apparently get a visit from Mel C (her song, Rock Me, is accompanying the German TV station ZDF's coverage of the tournament – not my cup of tea, I have to say) ahead of the game on Friday evening. It may take some explaining. "It's my era so I'll probably enjoy it," said England defender Casey Stoney. "But the squad is quite young so half of them probably won't know she is …" • Despite impressive viewing figures for the tournament so far, not everyone has been glued to the football. Jill Scott's three-year-old nephew Charlie got a bit bored of the Mexico match, and after 20 minutes turned over to watch Peppa Pig for the rest of the game. • No doubt about the performance of the tournament so far – France were ominously good in their 4-0 demolition of Canada on Thursday night. A draw against Germany in their final group game will see them top the group and send all the pre-tournament knockout-round predictions into the bin. • Quite enjoyed this refreshingly honest little aside from Powell when asked at the team hotel on Wednesday whether her team can cope with the pressure: "I would like to think so, but you never know until the whistle blows, until the 90 minutes are up. We'll either be in a good position, or we'll be, like: 'Oh shit.'" • Picture of the day: England train at an empty Rudolf-Harbig Stadium ahead of the New Zealand game. Got to love that badge in the seats. • Finally, here are my Audioboo day six thoughts.