SheGulls were invited down to the Elite Performance Centre last week to speak with some of our players about the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. In this edition Dutch midfielder and semi-final hero, Nadine Noordam, gives us the her thoughts ahead of this incredible event:

Duncan Price: The excitement is building already. What does this occasion mean to you personally?

Nadine Noordam: It means a lot. It’s so exciting to go to Wembley and it’s just a special game and we’re really looking forward to it. So yeah, really excited.

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DP: You’ve won the Dutch KNVB Women’s Cup three times. Do you think having played in high-pressure, one-off games gives you a little edge going into a match like this?

NN: Yeah, of course, every game is different, but it gives you a little bit more confidence maybe going into this game. Because yeah, a final gives some pressure and nerves and you’ve experienced that before. So it’s not the first time.

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DP: What do you think has made this team so resilient through this FA Cup run?

NN: I think we are a cup team as well. We always work really, really hard and we can win from every team, like, also the big teams. We showed that this season. We’re just a collective, it’s hard to play against us and a cup game is just one game. We’re quite good in the pressure.

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DP: I can’t speak to you without mentioning the winner against Liverpool. We’re all still recovering from it to be honest. What was going through your mind when the ball came out to you on the edge of the area?

NN: It’s still crazy if I think about it or get feedback. It’s an amazing moment. We celebrate it with the girls and we deserve this as a team, as a group of players, and that you can make the winning goal is special. I’m very grateful of getting the opportunity and living the dream and go to Wembley. So it’s really special.

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DP: Had you or the team allowed yourselves to think about Wembley before that Liverpool game, or was it more about just concentrating on the match itself?

NN: Yeah of course you have that in your mind. You know what’s on the line, you know where the game is for. It’s not that you already think about playing there, it’s just so motivating that, okay, Wembley is on the line. If we win, we go to Wembley. So of course that’s on your mind, but you first need to win that game.

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DP: Have you thought about winning the FA Cup, or do you feel like you need to get the game out of the way before enjoying that possibility?

NN: We always said to each other this season, I feel like we can do something special in the cup, but it feels far away if you start this journey because you have the fifth round or the fourth round, and then you have a few games leading into this final. Then you draw Arsenal, you think this is going to be hard, but nothing is impossible. We showed it, we’re ready, we’re excited and I actually think we have a chance to win.

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DP: What do you think the keys will be to defeating Manchester City? You beat them only a few weeks ago, so do you expect anything different in the final?

NN: I think we need to focus on us as well. Of course we have tactical things leading into this game, which they will as well. They will look at us and will do something maybe, but as I said, we’re excited, we’re ready. We’re just going to make the last week of the season of training like fun and sharp and then we’re ready.

We want to thank Nadine and the club for their time and assistance.

Now let’s go and win the FA Cup on Sunday! Up the Albion!