Flame On

Feyenoord forward Ella Van Kerkhoven, 31, with 16 goals in 29 caps, talks about adding firepower to a Belgium side still spearheaded by captain and all-time top scorer Tessa Wullaert. She first entered the set-up in 2014 as a central defender, a position in which Belgium were well stocked, and only won a first cap at 24 after her Anderlecht coach Patrick Wachel converted her into a number nine at 22, telling her it would get her into the national team. She has been fully professional for only four or five years, having spent eight years studying for a criminology degree, easier to combine with football than a job. On sharing the scoring burden she describes complementary qualities rather than competition, and on leadership a group with no outspoken figurehead, where Janice Cayman brings people together under an energising new coach.