Shrewsbury to host England Women World Cup qualifier

Shrewsbury's Greenhous Meadow will stage its third women's international

Shrewsbury Town are to host an England Women's international for a third time, a crucial 2011 World Cup play-off.

The home leg against Switzerland is on Sunday September 12.

"It is a great honour to host the England Women's team, and it once again puts our club on the world stage," said Shrews general manager Jon Harris.

The Euro 2009 qualifier win over Spain in November 2007 drew an attendance of 8,753 - still the record crowd at the stadium Town moved to that summer.

The Greenhous Meadow is a happy hunting ground for England Women, who beat Spain 1-0 in 2007 thanks to Karen Carney's goal as well as winning 3-0 against Norway in a friendly in April 2009 through a Lindsay Johnson header and two goals from Fara Williams.

"The two previous games that we have hosted have been a success for England on the pitch and also for Shrewsbury Town off the pitch," Harris added.

Playing at Shrewsbury Town holds some great memories for myself and the players

England Women coach Hope Powell

"I am confident that this will be the case once again."

Coach Hope Powell will discover her side's play-off opponents on Monday, 30 August when the draw is made at Uefa's headquarters in Switzerland.

The play-off winners will join hosts Germany in the World Cup finals next June, while the losing nation will be required to negotiate a second play-off against a country from the Concacaf region.

"We are really looking forward to the play-offs," Powell told the Football Association website.

"We ended our qualification group with a good display and a good victory in Austria, and the squad will be really focused for September.

"We know that only one part of the job is complete. We have to qualify for the World Cup and we will be doing everything we can to ensure we get there.

"Playing at Shrewsbury Town holds some great memories for myself and the players," she added

"We have a good record at that ground, so we are pleased to be going back to Shrewsbury for what is such a crucial game."

England qualified for the play-offs by topping Group Five, ahead of Spain, with seven wins and a draw from their eight matches.