Fran Kirby’s special strike for England in their 5-0 UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 win over Northern Ireland on Friday evening not only helped the Lionesses end the group stage with a record goal tally of 14, she also created her own special piece of history.

Kirby opened the scoring against the Green and White Army with a stunning curling effort from the edge of the box. The goal was Kirby’s first in three starts at this summer’s tournament.

After the game, it was revealed that Kirby has become the first Lioness to score in four consecutive major tournaments for England - only Michael Owen has ever achieved the same feat for the men’s team. In addition to her goal against Northern Ireland, Kirby scored once in the group stage at both the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 and at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 in The Netherlands, and she also netted in the bronze medal match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 when England went down 2-1 to Sweden.

The Blues number 14 has revealed that at the time of scoring the goal against Northern Ireland, she was unaware of the fact she had created her own piece of history.

‘I didn't know it was a record,’ Kirby said when speaking on Lionesses Live. ‘I knew that I had scored in previous tournaments before, so I was aware, but I didn't really think it was a record at the time. I just thought oh great, I've scored another goal in a tournament – that’s amazing but then my friend messaged me and told me about the record.

‘It is really special but just being a part of four major tournaments for England is amazing and something I could never have dreamed of.’

Kirby is again likely to line up alongside fellow Blues Bethany England, Jess Carter and Millie Bright when England face Spain in a mouth-watering quarter-final in Brighton tonight. The 29-year-old is looking forward to testing herself against some of Europe’s most-talented players.

She said ‘I hope we have the ball a bit more than we did when we played them in the 2017 Euros. I think we were just running after them for 90 minutes.

‘It’s always exciting to play against top oppositions; it's why we do what we do, to test yourself against the best. They've lost a couple of players now due to injury which is sad for them and sad for the players, but they’re still a really strong side.

‘Of course, they're weakened by it but there are still very, very capable players in that team. They’ve got to the quarter-finals and made it out of a tough group. For us, we know that we're going to be tested and we know that we have to be on our game and get the game plan correct to get the result.’

Like the rest of the nation, England have had to cope with some intense heat as they continue to prepare for the match. Kirby revealed the Lionesses are carefully managing their schedule to ensure that the humid conditions do not take their toll on the players.

‘We brought training forward a bit earlier just so we could get out when it was a bit cooler but when you're out there and training, it’s warm,’ Kirby said. ‘I think we're managing it quite well in terms of not doing too much because it can take quite a lot out of you. I don't mind training in heat like this but playing games, that's where I don't really enjoy it too much.’

England’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 quarter-final tie against Spain in Brighton kicks-off at 8pm tonight. Fans can keep up-to-date on our international Blues via our social media channels, ‘@ChelseaFCW’.