Hannah Hampton was one of the England heroes in last night’s dramatic quarter-final victory against Sweden, and the Chelsea goalkeeper reflected afterwards on the determination the Lionesses displayed and her own performance.
England fought back from two goals down late on to take a compelling quarter-final contest to extra-time. The sides could not be separated in the additional half-hour, so penalties would have to do the job.
Hampton had already made a couple of pivotal saves during the game, and she backed them up with two more during a chaotic shoot-out in which nine of the 14 penalties struck did not find the net. By the end, Lucy Bronze’s thunderous spot-kick proved decisive as Smilla Holmberg was unable to convert the final spot-kick.
‘Overall we’re very happy,’ smiled Hampton. ‘Although I would have preferred the game didn’t go to penalties and cause everyone the extra stress it did!
‘We said at half-time we don’t want to go home. It was down to us to turn the game around, and that we did. We knew we were going to fight for each other.
‘If someone makes a mistake, the next one is there to back them up. I’m glad we all stuck together. The one thing we didn’t want to do was turn on each other. The proper England is back. Everyone is putting their bodies on the line. We are going in the right direction.’
It was unquestionably the highlight of Hampton’s England career to date on the occasion of her 20th cap and she was quick to thank her team-mates for their part in her starring role in Zurich.
‘I just want to make sure I do everything I can to make sure we get the result we deserve. It was a big team performance.
‘The girls have got behind me a lot. They have seen all the hard work I have put in and have helped me get to the point I am now.
‘They know how tough it’s been for me in and around the England environment, so to be able to go out and help them, and for the whole team to put on a performance that we did, it’s a lovely moment.’