RACHEL Brown will hope to be part of the England side who kick off their European Championship campaign against Russia in Jena, Germany, tomorrow.

The Burnley goalkeeper is second choice behind England's number one Pauline Cope but, with 12 caps, will hope to make an impact at some stage.

England face Sweden next on Wednesday before finishing their Group A games against defending champions Germany next Saturday in the eight-team tournament.

Germany were set to open the Championships today with a tough game against Sweden.

Rachel, 20, is studying at the University of Pittsburgh in America and has played her part in getting England to the finals, coming on as a sub in England's play-off victory over Ukraine.

The former Accrington Stanley player is looking forward to the tournament -- so the side can judge how far England have come in the last few years under the watchful eye of coach Hope Powell.

"Hope has the highest UEFA coaching badge, what the men have, and is a great coach," said Rachel, who holds the record as the youngest player to play in an FA Cup final when she turned out for Liverpool at the age of 15.

"She has brought much success. Women's football had hit a low point and was going through a tough time but in the last two years it has really come on.

"We missed out on the World Cup in America last year but, saying that, in our qualifying group we had Germany, Holland and Norway -- Norway and Germany are the best two teams and we only lost by odd goals.

"But being at the European Championships is a great achievement. We are now starting to see some success which is rewarding. "It will be interesting to see how we do as we haven't played the likes of Germany for around 18 months. It will show how how far we have come."

So far almost 30,000 tickets have been sold with crowds in excess of 5,000 expected for each of the Germany games.

While England's main Group A stumbling block will be host nation Germany, the Group B teams will fear Norway.

The Norwegians are the world's leading women's team, having toppled America from the number one slot by beating them in last year's Olympics final, but they also qualified for the Euro finals with an awesome group record.

They came through the qualifiers with a 100 per cent record, conceding not a single goal while scoring 25 -- including an 8-0 home victory over a young and experimental England line-up.

Up against the Norwegians in Group B are France, Italy and Denmark.

But while there is formidable opposition, former England star and now top coach in the women's game, Sue Lopez MBE, thinks her country do stand a chance of reaching at least the semi-final stages.

But, according to the form book and rankings, the fifth official UEFA Women's European championships should produce a final between holders Germany and Norway.

"Four of the Euro Championships so far played have been won by the Germans so they will be strong," said Sue. "The Germans will be odds-on to reach the semi-finals from Group A, in which either Sweden or England should become the other semi-finalists. "Sweden though, like Norway, are a strong side and have developed substantially in recent years.

"For England's chances, Hope will have her fingers crossed that world class striker Kelly Smith recovers from injury, and if Angela Banks and the experienced Marieanne Spacey continue their fine Arsenal understanding, England can field a balanced team of experience and youth.

"In defence, skipper Mo Marley, goalkeepers Pauline Cope and Rachel Brown and youngsters Katie Chapman and Danielle Murphy will need to be at their best, while Karen Burke and Becky Easton must produce their usual consistently sound performances in midfield."

But while Sweden are the main obstactle to reaching the last four, Russia are an unknown quantity.

"Russia will be no pushover," said Sue. "But England's game with Sweden will act as a benchmark of Hope Powell's team's progress before they face the ultimate test of Germany.

"Then they will how far they have come to closing the gap between themselves and the best in Europe."

In Group B, Sue tips Norway. She said: "Norway should comfortably finish top while Denmark are the probable wooden spoonists with the second semi-final spot going to either Italy or dark horses France."

Meanwhile, England women's team captain Mo Marley, who doubles up as the Girls and Women's Football Development Officer for Merseyside, sees the European championships -- as the World Cup was in America last year -- as a great advert for women's football.

In the four European Championships so far held, England have reached the semi-finals once, the quarter-finals twice and were knocked out in the play-offs in 1997. The Everton defender said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for us to put the England women's team on the map and get more and more youngsters interested in the game.

"We can hopefully inspire girls to take up football and make progress in the game, we can give them role models and something to aspire to."

And the 34-year-old -- who calls this 'the pinnacle of her career' -- likes England's tag of underdogs.

"None of the other seven teams taking part in the competition seem to think we are going to make an impact, but that could work to our advantage.

"If we play to our ability in our three group games then I feel we can finish in the top two to qualify for the semi-finals -- and that would be a tremendous achievement in itself."