If anyone wants to understand what the new England are all about, then the sight of Hannah Hampton saving two penalties with her nose plugged to stop the stem of blood from ruining yet another keeper’s jersey should do it.
The pressure couldn’t have been higher for England’s shot-stopper at this Euros following Sarina Wiegman’s high-profile split from one of her most established stars, Mary Earps, in order to give youth its chance to shine.
And last night against Sweden, Hampton paid that faith back in dividends, producing two stunning saves during the game as well as saving two penalties in the shoot-out to ensure the Lionesses’ Euros title defence remained back on track.
It had wobbled for a moment – especially after England had conceded two early goals – but Hampton and Wiegman’s substitutes changed the game.
Chloe Kelly had been on the pitch for only one minute when she delivered a superb cross for Lucy Bronze to bring one back.
Two minutes later, Kelly came again, teeing up Beth Mead, who helped the ball on for 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang to draw the scores level and force extra time – and what would eventually become penalties. Both Mead and Agyemang had been on the turf themselves for only 10 minutes.
But it was the 24-year-old goalkeeper who will rightly draw the biggest plaudits.
Hampton was monstrous between the sticks, her reading of the game snuffing out Swedish attacks while her shot-stopping ability was sublime.
It was a triumphant night for the Chelsea star, capped off by a player-of-the-match display.
Hampton was charismatic and ecstatic in her post-match press conference, even answering a FaceTime from her family during the presser to introduce them to the media, a smile plastered all over her face.
‘Hold on, I’m in a presser, I’ve got to go, I’ll call you back!’ she told the other end of the line as she laughed and joked her way through a seven-minute talk.
Her journey to this point and battle with Earps for the No 1 shirt has been far from easy, and she acknowledged this with refreshing honesty after the match.
‘It’s been a difficult couple of years within the England environment,’ she said. ‘All the girls were ecstatic.
‘They’ve seen all the hard work that I’ve put in and how difficult it’s been and how they’ve helped me get to the point that I am now and being happy to be wearing an England shirt again. I just want to do whatever I can for the team to get that win.’
She had to be reminded of her game-changing save at the end of the first half – ‘I just played 120 minutes, I can’t remember what happened in the first 45!’ – while revealing that her teammates said she played better with one nostril.
It was the Hampton show from start to finish – and even Sarina Wiegman, typically reluctant to single out individuals, acknowledged her ‘massive’ contribution to the victory.
‘In the penalty shoot-out, I think it was the third penalty, where she saved it on her right side. That was an incredible save which kept us in it,’ the Dutch coach added.
It was far from the cleanest of victories – but Hampton did the dirty work, and somehow, England are into the semi-finals.
