Manchester City’s Janine Beckie will be entering the unknown when she lines up for Canada against her English teammates at the Academy Stadium in April.

Beckie has been used to sharing a training a pitch with the likes of Steph Houghton and Co since her arrival in England last year but will face her club teammates as enemies as the sides prepare for this summer’s World Cup.

There has been a rivalry brewing between the two nations since the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup when the hosts were knocked out in the quarter-finals by England and, although Beckie didn’t feature in that match, she certainly felt the shockwaves.

The 24-year-old also oversaw eight of her club teammates become SheBelieves Cup champions earlier in March but is well aware that come April, friendships will count for very little out on the pitch.

“I think everyone at Manchester City has such a good way about them when they step on to the pitch and bringing their identity, confidence and competitiveness with them, so I know for those 90 minutes we won’t be friends,” said the striker.

“I will be up against Steph (Houghton), Demi (Stokes) and Abbie (McManus) because I am a striker but I think my teammates play in pretty much every position for England so it will be me against everyone to be honest.

“I am confident that before and after it will be business as usual though and I am excited to be challenged by them - they are all of such a high quality and I know that it is a top England squad that we will face.”

Beckie has been impressed with what she has seen from the Lionesses since Phil Neville took over last year, with the former Manchester United man leading the team to victory in nine of their 15 games.

Canada are currently ranked fifth in the world by FIFA, one place below England, and Beckie believes there are a lot of similarities between how the teams are playing at the moment, adding another layer of competitiveness.

“I think that there is a rivalry between the top five or six teams in the world right now and I think that each time a game is played, there is somewhat of a rivalry there,” she added.

“Since Phil Neville has come in and changed the style of play, England has been able to cope with pressure a lot more but they also have a physically strong side to their game and we are in the same boat as them.

“Canada has been used to being a rough-and-tough team and very physically dominant and not so much about being dominant in possession of the ball, but we have totally shifted that and we play out a lot more than we have done in the past.

“We have high quality players in our environment but we haven’t lost that DNA of being a tough and strong team so I think the teams have very similar styles now.

“That creates a great game when we play each other now.”

  • England Women host Canada in a ‘Road to France’ international on Friday, 5 April at The Academy Stadium, Manchester City FC, KO 7.15pm. Tickets available at £10/£1 from www.thefa.com/lionessestickets