SCORING a World Cup goal for her country would be a dream come true for Georgia Stanway.

The 17-year-old Barrow striker is in Jordan with the England team for the Under-17s Women’s World Cup.

Stanway is one of the first-choice forwards in the 21-strong squad in the Middle East ready to take on the best teams on the planet.

They start their quest for a maiden global title against North Korea on Saturday, with group matches against Nigeria and Brazil to follow.

Scoring in any of those games would be massive for the up-and-coming star of the game, and she said: “It would be amazing if I can do it, but as a team we’ve got to focus on winning and focus on our performance as a unit. If that opportunity to score comes, I’m sure I’ll want to take it.”

Manchester City ace Stanway – who watched from afar as her club side claimed their first Women’s Super League title on Sunday as they defeated defending champions Chelsea – knows it is going to be a tough tournament.

But the former Dowdales School pupil also knows England have proven themselves worthy of playing among the teams in Jordan, having finished third in the European Championships earlier this summer.

“The fact that we have done all the work to get ourselves there in the Europeans is great,” Stanway said.

“It’s very special to be part of the team. I spoke to some of the seniors and they were saying that a World Cup is like nothing you will ever experience. You’ve just got to be a sponge when you’re out there and soak everything up.

“It’s a massive opportunity and it will be a great experience, hopefully, to take us into the future.

“We’ve done a lot of things together – win, lose, draw. I think we’ve got the mentality we need, we’re pretty much one big family.”

She added: “We’ll just have to see what happens when we are out there. It’s hard to know what the competition is going to be like, but in a World Cup no team is going to be easy.

“We’ve done a lot of work in the classroom on the opposition we are facing in our group, but being on the pitch is different to being in the classroom. We’ve just got to do well on the day, and hopefully that will speak for itself.

“I don’t think it’s too far away. If we’ve got the right mentality, if we play well, if we score goals – there are so many ifs – if we do all that, then hopefully it will come off.”

While Brazil are well-known as a footballing powerhouse in both the men’s and women’s game, Stanway admits she and her squad-mates know little about their opponents in the group stages in Jordan.

Coming up against the Brazilians, North Korea and Nigeria will pose three entirely different challenges, and she said: “They’re all going to have different characteristics, whether it be that they are very physical, or technical. We’ve just got to be able to adapt and play our game against them.”

All that remains now is for the action to get under way in Jordan.

Before setting off, Stanway spoke to team-mates at Manchester City about what she can expect from the World Cup environment – the likes of Lucy Bronze and Toni Duggan having been part of the England Women’s team who finished third in the World Cup last year.

She admits she still does not know what she will encounter, but also intends to enjoy every minute.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Stanway said.

“I’ve not got any expectations. I’ve heard that a World Cup is going to be something to remember. It will be a massive opportunity for me, a massive opportunity for England – let’s just see how we get on.

“I’m not sure what to expect and I just want to get out there and see what it’s all about.”

ENGLAND’S SCHEDULE

Saturday, October 1: England v North Korea.

Tuesday, October 4: England v Nigeria.

Saturday, October 8: England v Brazil.