MARK SAMPSON made the shortlist for the 2015 Fifa World Coach of the Year yesterday, as he reflected back on a “fantastic 2015” for his England side.

World Cup winner Jill Ellis, United States, and runner-up Norio Sasak, Japan, are the other two candidates vying to win the award.

Sampson led England to a third place finish in Canada, England’s best ever finish at a Women’s World Cup, and won 12 of his 19 fixtures this year.

The victory over Germany at the World Cup saw England finish as the highest-ranked nation in Europe.

Speaking after Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sampson said: “The important thing was to celebrate a fantastic 2015 for women’s football in this country.

“To not get three points would have spoiled the party a little bit.”

England have won their opening two games of the Euro 2017 qualifying campaign and looking ahead to the build-up to the tournament, Sampson wants to keep on improving the team by playing the bigger sides in football
“We have laid a massive foundation to build on for next year,” he said. “The success [this year] is something no-one expected bar the people in our changing room and the exciting part of it is the group cannot wait to keep going.

“Next year will be challenging for us but the most important aspect is the competition and the determination in the group to keep us moving forward.

“To do that we have to make sure we start playing against the best teams more often than not. That will give this team a chance to pit their wits against the best teams in the world.”