Smith makes Team GB women's football squad

• 18-strong party includes six Arsenal players
• Two Scots named in the squad

Kelly Smith, the Arsenal and England striker with 111 caps and 45 goals to her name, has made the Team GB squad for the women's football tournament at the London 2012 Olympics after overcoming a series of injury problems. The 18-strong party, named on Tuesday at Wembley, contains two Scottish players – Ifeoma Dieke and Kim Little. Another Scot and a player from Northern Ireland are on the reserve list of four.

The core of the squad is taken from the England side that is managed by Hope Powell, who will also coach the Team GB squad. The two Scottish players are Arsenal's Kim Little, who Powell said is a "great talent", and Ifeoma Dieke, who plays in Sweden for Vittsjo GIK.

Despite their opening two matches being played in Cardiff, Powell said she felt under no pressure to include a Welsh player. "I took the associations out of the equation and it was just about trying to pick a squad of players trying to do the best job possible," said Powell, who recently took charge of her 150th England match.

Smith, who recently returned to Arsenal Ladies for a third spell, is included after recently making her return to the England side.

The women's side will be the first Team GB athletes to appear at the Games on 25 July, when they play New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium. They also face Cameroon in Cardiff on 28 July and complete their group stage at Wembley against the Beijing silver medallists Brazil on 31 July.

Powell said Smith had recovered from her injuries and is "good to go".

"She's doing really well. I know there have been question marks. She is chomping at the bit. We all know the player she is and that's why she warrants a place."

Alex Scott, one of six Arsenal players in the squad, said it would be an honour to be the first British athletes to appear but it would not faze the players. "It's a very exciting moment. We're all excited and we can't wait to meet together as a squad and get going," she said.

They will play Sweden in a friendly at the Riverside in a double-header when the men's Olympic team, due to be named within the week, meet Brazil ahead of the Games. "This is going to be something incredible and I hope it really does raise the profile of women's football in this country," said the British Olympic Association chief executive, Andy Hunt.

The women's team qualified for the Games in 2008 but due to the politics surrounding the involvement of the home nations, did not put forward a team.

The women's Super League will pause for a mid-season hiatus in a fortnight, then begin again after the Olympics.

Team GB squad Eniola Aluko, Anita Asante, Karen Bardsley, Sophie Bradley, Rachel Brown, Karen Carney, Ifeoma Dieke, Stephanie Houghton, Kim Little, Claire Rafferty, Alex Scott, Jill Scott, Kelly Smith, Casey Stoney, Fara Williams, Rachel Williams, Ellen White, Rachel Yankey. Reserves Jess Clarke , Emma Higgins, Jane Ross, Dunia Susi. Read More