England women’s manager Hope Powell has fired a World Cup warning to her team and insisted -’Don’t get sloppy.’

The national side host Turkey at the Banks’s Stadium in their penultimate World Cup qualifier on Thursday, just a win away from claiming top spot in Group 5 after an an unbeaten qualifying campaign.

It would net them a play-off for a place in next year’s tournament in Germany but, while she admits they are overwhelming favourites, Powell is cautious.

She said: “We’re expected to win but expectation in the past has proved difficult,” said Powell, who has overseen an unbeaten qualifying campaign.

“It’s never easy when you’re expected to win games. They’ve got nothing to lose, we’ve beaten Turkey before and they are 66th in the world.

“It’s difficult because the expectation thing adds more pressure. The last time we played them we won 3-0 but scored three in the last 15 minutes.

“Teams you’re expected to beat will be very defensive and it’s hard to play against them.

“Until it’s over and we’ve got three points in the bag we can’t assume anything, so we’ve got to prepare in a very professional manner.

“We’ve been here before and hopefully the players will be clued in.”

But despite being odds-on to reach the play-offs, which are drawn on August 30, Powell isn’t considering progress yet.

She said: “The thing is to get there first and then once we get there, we’ll go ‘right who would we like to play?’

“The qualifying programme has proved long and tiring. It’s hard so we want to get through these last games first.”

Walsall-born Rachel Unitt could start, while Rachel Yankey is set to become only the second woman to win 100 England caps, following in the footsteps of Gillian Coulthard.

And Powell believes Arsenal striker Yankey’s feat should not be under-estimated.

The England boss said: “It’s a massive achievement. To get your first cap is fantastic but to go from that to 100 is a milestone not many players are fortunate to achieve.

“It’s a thing which should be recognised and hopefully there will be many more players who will achieve it.

“With competition being so fierce, the fact someone has reached the milestone is great.”

Tickets are £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions and are available by calling the Walsall ticket office on 01922 651414/416.