Chelsea keeper says predecessor put role ‘on the map’
Hampton happy with clarity to prepare as a starter
Hannah Hampton has vowed to try to live up to Mary Earps’s legacy after being confirmed as England’s first-choice goalkeeper for Women’s Euro 2025.
After Earps’s shock retirement from international football last month, the England head coach, Sarina Wiegman, confirmed that her first choice was Hampton, who had started the Lionesses’ three previous games and has been selected five times in a row in the buildup to July’s tournament in Switzerland.
The Chelsea goalkeeper was asked at England’s pre-Euros media day at St George’s Park whether she was surprised by Earps’s announcement and whether they had spoken. “First of all we have to respect what her decision is,” Hampton said. “There’s been quite a bit of scrutiny that she probably doesn’t deserve with everything that she’s achieved in the game and put women’s goalkeeping on the map for the younger generation. It was never really a thing, and Mary’s changed that.
