England's Women's EUROs campaign could not have ended better - especially in the goalkeeping department…
Header image: via Bleacher Report/X
There's not much to write about Hannah Hampton that hasn't already been written over the past week.
England's new number one wrote herself into English footballing history last Sunday evening, capably filling the huge gloves of Mary Earps, left empty upon her retirement from international football.
But Hampton's story on the international stage is only in its opening chapter.
It appears that manager Sarina Wiegman's decision to back the future in the national team's goalkeeper department has entirely paid off. Back in April, she alluded to a likely switch in between the sticks, explaining that ‘At this moment [after England’s friendly against Belgium] she’s a little bit ahead. We have two world-class goalkeepers so it’s been a really hard decision. But at this moment, Hannah is a little bit ahead.'
That likelihood became a reality when she named Hampton as number one ahead of this year's tournament in Switzerland. Following England's quarter final victory on penalties against Sweden, the 24-year-old admitted in her post-match press conference that ‘It’s been a difficult couple of years within the England environment. They [the team] have 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.’
The thousands of words that have been churned out on Hampton (for all the right reasons) are a testament to Wiegman's bravery to part with long-term number one Mary Earps. Earps defined women's goalkeeping for a generation, and will, for some time, serve as the inspiration for thousands of young women gunning for a career in the goalposts. But everything has its time - and it takes some courage to make a change of such magnitude ahead of a major tournament.
Hampton came off the back of a treble-winning season with Chelsea on the domestic front, whilst Earps came in for criticism in her first season away from English football with Paris Saint-Germain. It was only five weeks before the start of EURO 2025 that Earps decided to call an end to her international career, for reasons that are still not fully known but are reported to be to associated with the fact that she was likely to play second-fiddle at this year's tournament.
You can understand why Earps may have felt hard done by. But these are the decisions that managers are paid to make in the international fold. Wiegman has a responsibility to bring England success in the immediacy, but also execute a wider national team pathway that allows younger players the necessary exposure to be able to go on and become the type of figure that Earps was in the squad. That exposure comes on the pitch in major tournaments. There's no two ways about it.
Gareth Southgate did it with Joe Hart in 2018 (though the England men's team's form at the time, nor Hart's own form, had been anywhere near that of Earps and the Lionesses over the past few years) and it paid off in the monumental development of Jordan Pickford on the international stage.
The then-England manager removed a barrier in 2018 by doing what he was later criticised for: picking based on genuine merit, rather than legacy. One may even argue that, if that trend continues, another English goalkeeper (most likely James Trafford) will be taking up the mantle by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around. Or, if it had continued, that Pickford would have been dropped due to his domestic form for previous tournaments.
The truth is, there was no contender for the number one shirt - bar potentially Aaron Ramsdale - who fitted England's style of play better than Pickford. Whereas, for the Lionesses, Hannah Hampton brought a suitable skillset for the football that Wigeman wanted to play, exemplified by her stunning half-assist for Alessia Russo to lay the ball off to goalscorer Lauren James in England's 4-0 win over the Netherlands. Hampton played as a striker in her youth. 'I do miss scoring goals, I can't lie,' the goalkeeper had said two days before that fixture.
'Barrier' is a curious word when it comes to the career of Hannah Hampton. The 24-year-old has been defying odds in the name of goalkeeping since she picked up the gloves. Born with a serious eye condition and even advised by doctors not to play football, she continues to have depth perception issues even after multiple operations attempting to correct her vision.
But there has been no stopping her. Throughout the EUROs, she proved solid in her debut major international campaign. She made a string of crucial interventions, none more so than several from the penalty spot, ultimately retaining for her squad the title they earned back in 2022. Hampton continues to power through these obstacles on and off the field all the way to the top of the game.
‘I think I’ve always gone through life trying to prove people wrong,’ she said. ‘I was told from a young age that I couldn’t play football, that it wouldn’t be a profession I could pursue – the doctors told my parents that.’
‘Finding that out made me more determined to reach the highest level possible. Playing sport was always my passion and my dream.’
Those who shaped Hampton's earliest years of development say that they saw a winner from the start. Her former PE teacher, Emma Heighway, said it was clear that the goalkeeper had a 'natural talent' when she was younger.
'It was just so clear that she was going to be destined for big things,' she said, speaking to the BBC.
'She was an incredible outfield player. She played outfield for the boys teams and ran rings around all the boys, which was great to watch.'
'We just wanted her to have fun playing football when she was with us, and you could just see she was head and shoulders above anyone else.
'I'm so, so proud of where she's got to now.'
Sunday’s final against world champions Spain was a culmination night of all her struggles and overcomings - from physical challenges to a tough spell in 2022. She was dropped for seven games in a row by her then-club Aston Villa and left out of the England squad over reported attitude issues, with some reports suggesting that as long as Wiegman was in charge, she may never make another appearance.
Whilst exactly what occurred was never made fully public, it was no secret in the press that Hampton's behaviour had upset a the apple cart. Sometimes, the biggest challenges to overcome come from within. But after being named Player of the Match in the final, and marking the first time an England team won a major trophy on a foreign soil, that's long behind her.
Hampton also shared after the match that she had lost her grandfather two days before the big game. In the aftermath of that legendary night, she shared a heartfelt message:
'You taught me so much, not just about football, but about life. About staying grounded, working hard, being resilient and doing things the right way.
'It breaks my heart that you didn't get to see me walk out for our country at my first major tournament... something you dreamed of for me, something we talked about so many times. But I know, deep down, you were still there. I felt you with me. In the tunnel. On the pitch. In the tough moments. I heard you in my head when I needed strength.
‘I hope I made you proud, Grandpa. I carried you through every minute. And I always will. I did it. WE DID IT.’
Hampton played the final in a jersey with the word ‘GRANDPA’ printed on the back of the collar. The next chapter of her exciting story has opened in front of the millions who were proud of her on Sunday night - but perhaps none more so than those looking on from above.
