England Women midfielder Fara Williams has paid credit to manager Mark Sampson for bringing unity into the team as they prepare to face Japan in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Canada.

Sampson, who took over from Hope Powell as coach in 2013, has guided the Lionesses to their first ever semi-final in the tournament and should they win tonight, they will take on the USA in the final.

"Mark deserves every credit he's going to get for what he has done with this team and how he has turned the team around in this past 18 months, not just on the pitch but off the pitch," The Express quotes Williams as saying.

"He has brought this group of players together. Myself and some of the senior players have been here a long time and probably haven't felt as together as this team is and that's a credit to Mark and his staff that have really tried to build this spirit that we have."

Williams has 145 England caps to her name.