Tottenham Hotspur gear up for a historic fixture this Sunday, as the Spurs prepare to face Leicester City in the semi-final stages of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

The excitement of the historic fixture becomes far more rich in it’s setting, as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium plays host to the penultimate cup fixture. Expressing his excitement toward the clash being played at The Lane, Vilahamn exclaimed “When I got told that we were going to play that game there, I was so happy because we want to be there. They want us to play more games there, it’s the perfect match- it’s a big game and we are feeling that we can perform even better on that stadium.”

A victory on Sunday will earn Tottenham Hotspur Football Club a spot on the Wembley Stage for the first time in Women’s FA Cup history, something that Vilahamn was not discounting when asked whether he is aware of the gravity of the clash.

“I think now I am [aware of it], I didn’t really realise it when we won the quarter final that it’s huge in this country to be in the semi-final for the first time. I’m proud of it- I think the girls this year are really great and we are taking such big steps to make sure we put Tottenham on the map for Women’s Football.”

Despite the possibility of a shot at silverware on the turf of Wembley Stadium being just one hurdle away, Vilahamn assured that the focus of his side will not waver come Sunday. He said, “Full focus is on this game, of course. If we win this game we are going to play one of the best teams in the league anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. We need to focus on a good performance on Sunday, then we can see if we ‘re going to play Wembley or not.”

Providing an update on the fitness of his side as the squad trickle back from international duties, Vilahamn confirmed that “[It] looks very good. Everybody was training and tomorrow we have the last training. Right now everybody in the squad is healthy and able to be in the squad.” It is expected that both Martha Thomas [Hamstring] and Molly Bartrip [Illness] will make their return to the match day squad for Sunday’s meeting with the Foxes.

No matter Sunday’s result, the Adobe Women’s FA Cup final will feature a brand new finalist in that of Tottenham or Leicester City for the first time in the competition’s history. As the gap bridges between the common contingent those at the top and the remainder of the Barclays Women’s Super League sides, Vilahamn said “It’s good news for a lot of people in this country because everybody wants to have a competitive league, and more teams that can beat each other.

I think it’s getting quite boring in the leagues in Europe where only two teams are fighting about it. So, in one way I really like it. Of course I like it when I’m here with one of the teams with Tottenham here, but also for the fanbase and everything, we need to have more teams to compete so we can bring more fans to the stadiums.”

Tottenham Hotspur have become a side reincarnated under Vilahamn’s management, as they bounce-back from a near relegation campaign during the 2022/23 Barclays Women’s Super League season. Speaking on where he views the side to be in it’s stages of ‘rebuilding’ Vilahamn

“I hope you can see an identity [of] how we want to play. I can see it, and I feel like the players are buying into it, the fans are buying into it- it feels like media is also seeing what we’re trying to do. It takes time to go through all of this stuff in the game, and all of the details in it. I would say that after this year, and if we finish top six and we still have these performances. Yes we are a little bit above schedule, but the next step will be even sharper.”

Leaving one final message for Spurs fans ahead of Sunday’s historic clash, Vilahamn spoke “I just hope that we can bring so many supporters to this stadium and make sure that we do this together. We play for them, we don’t play for ourselves, and we want to make sure that we can have a lot of fans at the stadium and make them proud. If we’re going to reach the final, we need them, because they actually give us that extra energy.”

Tottenham Hotspur will face Leicester City this coming Sunday in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Semi Final. Proceedings will head underway at 12:00 BST, with tickets still available to purchase here.