Victoria Williams admits it was an emotional afternoon when she walked into a full Wembley and saw some of her mates win the Euros.

Such an occasion was beyond her wildest dreams when the current Albion skipper was growing up.

It’s a cliché and it’s a line we have heard before - but it is true.

The dream is there to achieve these days for girls who love playing the game.

There will no doubt be some such youngsters at the Amex on Sunday as the Seagulls belatedly open their home programme in the ever-improving WSL.

Two weeks after the visit of Aston Villa was called off as a mark of respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Albion take on Reading at the magnificent Falmer venue (2pm).

Williams knows how the fans will feel as she leads the home side out.

The boot was on the other foot as she supported the Lionesses on their way to glory this summer.

She said: “It was frightening, to be honest with you.

“Just coming out and going to my seat and taking it all in at a full Wembley.

“Forty-eight hours before the game, I didn’t have a ticket and I was sat at home thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to miss this’.

“I managed to scramble one from a friend and it was quite emotional, actually.

“For me, growing up, I never expected to see anything even close to that.

“The experience itself and obviously topped off with an England win, it was a phenomenal day.

“I’ve grown up with some of those players. It’s so nice to see.

“It’s kind of weird to see them referred to almost as celebrities now.

“They are just normal girls who have worked hard at their craft and now they are getting their just reward.

“If you are a young girl now, you can look at this and believe it is something you can do.

“All the foundations are in place for you to be as successful as you want to be.

“That’s so nice because, growing up, you were never sure where it was going to take you.

“Now these girls have a real focus and a target they can aim at.

“Football was a hobby really and it cost you far more than you were ever going to get back from it.

“I’m kind of riding the wave now and not forgetting to be present in each moment because I’d have loved to have said as a kid I wanted to grow up and be a professional footballer but I knew at the time it wasn’t possible.

“Now to be actually in it, living and breathing it, I don’t take a day for a granted.”

The Amex was a huge part of the England success story.

Now Albion, whose home games are usually hosted by Crawley Town, get to tread the turf on which Norway and Spain were vanquished.

Speaking ahead of the Villa game, and expressing sentiments that will not have changed at all since then, Williams said: “I know a lot of our fans would like us to play a bit closer to home so we are expecting to see plenty of them here – and friends and family.

“Just being able to put on a show in a beautiful stadium on a beautiful pitch.”

Albion got off to false start last Friday, losing 4-0 to a highly-fancied Arsenal side who were helped by a red card for Emma Kullberg on seven minutes.

Williams issued a motivational message via social media after that game and spoke of her pride at the team’s efforts playing with ten.

The experienced centre-back has been happy with the way a much-changed squad has gelled.

She said: “The flipside of a lot of players leaving is the ones who come in have a fresh outlook on things.

“It is almost like a new slate for us.

“We look slightly different in the way we play.

“It is going to be really exciting to see what we can achieve this season.

“I firmly believe we can reach the targets we have set internally.

“Internally, our targets last year were to start quicker.

“In the seasons before, it has taken a while to get going.

“We achieved that early on, had some really good results.

“Sadly, form dropped off so that was a disappointing factor for us.

“We believed we had enough to take more from games but it didn’t really pan out that way.

“That’s football. You don’t really know.

“You have an idea of how teams are going to turn up against you.

“But, until the whistle goes, you can’t really predict what is going to happen.”

Albion had four debutants at Arsenal in Jorja Fox, Poppy Pattinson, Vea Sarri and Elisabeth Terland but were generally on the back foot once Kullberg had tripped the goalbound Stina Blackstenius, who should have been flagged for offside.

All being well, their plan to play a bit more football this season should be evident on Sunday.

So what to expect? Williams said: “Wait and see! That’s the beauty of it.

“Buy a ticket, come down on Sunday and you will see, hopefully.”