Earps thought international career was over now she's a world-beater

England goalkeeper Mary Earps cried on her kitchen floor believing her international career was over… now the Lioness No 1 is a world-beater

• England’s No 1 Mary Earps was ready to give up on football three years ago
• Her form for Man United did not lead to a recall for England back in 2020 
• Ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final, she has become a world-beater for England 

Goalkeepers spend most of their careers being forgotten about and under-appreciated. Until recently, Mary Earps was no different.

England’s No 1 was ready to give up football three years ago. After a long spell out of the international set-up, Earps had hoped her form for Manchester United would earn her a recall in September 2020. But it did not.

Four goalkeepers — Carly Telford, Ellie Roebuck, Hannah Hampton and Sandy MacIver were picked ahead of her. Earps recalled how, upon seeing that squad list, she sank to her kitchen floor and cried.

‘I got to a point where I felt I had sort of reached my limits,’ Earps said. ‘I had given football a good go, but wasn’t quite good enough. I had responsibilities, I had a mortgage and it wasn’t adding up.’

Earps decided to give football two more years, but had made peace with her international career being over after just eight caps. How times change.

Mary Earps felt her international career was over in 2020 but she has gone on to become a world-beater and has played a key part for England at this summer’s World Cup

Earps was named the ‘Best Goalkeeper’ at the FIFA awards back in February earlier this year 

A year on from the tears in her kitchen Earps was called up to Sarina Wiegman’s first Lionesses squad and has not looked back. She cemented the No 1 spot leading into Euro 2022 and started every game, her performances instrumental to England winning the tournament.

When Earps was named ‘Best Goalkeeper’ at the FIFA awards in February, she gave a speech that encapsulated her journey. ‘This is for anyone who has ever been in a dark place,’ Earps said in her acceptance speech. ‘Just know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. There’s only one of you, and that’s more than good enough. Be unapologetically yourself.’

The trait of being ‘unapologetically herself’ is something that makes Earps one of the most popular players in this England team. She is a confident goalkeeper, her defeaning voice often heard from high up in the stands as she directs her defenders. But Earps, who says she did a lot of dancing growing up, is not afraid to laugh at herself.

Speaking to Mail Sport in 2022, Earps said: ‘When you’re doing a singing and dancing solo on stage to Pop Goes the Weasel, demanding your defender to go a little bit right or left doesn’t faze you. ‘That set me apart at a younger age because quite a lot of goalkeepers felt a bit embarrassed to shout or communicate to their team but I was never really like that.’

It has been clear at this World Cup that the standard of goalkeeping has improved greatly. This is in large part down to the increased professionalism of the women’s game. Earps was working part-time in a cinema when she made her debut in the Women’s Super League at the age of 17 and did not have full-time goalkeeper training until she joined Reading six years later.

‘It’s normal now for younger goalkeepers, maybe from the age of 10, to have goalkeeping training every single training session. That’s a completely different world to what I grew up with,’ Earps told Mail Sport last year. ‘I’m grateful for every single part of my journey because it’s made me the character and person I am. You know when to demand more from certain situations that aren’t acceptable.’

Earps has not looked back since she was included in Sarina Wiegman’s first Lionesses squad

Earps and her England team-mates are two games away from being world champions

That is what Earps did when she spoke out on Nike’s failure to sell her goalkeeper shirt for a second tournament running.

‘It’s a very scary message that’s being sent to goalkeepers worldwide that “you’re not important”,’ Earps said. ‘It’s hugely disappointing and very hurtful.’

Nike’s decision is looking more and more naive as this World Cup progresses. Earps has been one of England’s standout performers, even if she may not always get the headlines.

If England go on to win this tournament they can look back to the 80th minute of their opening game with Haiti as one of key moments. The Lionesses were hanging on to a 1-0 lead when Earps stuck out a leg to deny Roseline Eloissaint.

It is fair to say that the Lionesses may not have got to this stage without that save.

After extra-time had ended in their last 16 game with Nigeria, cameras panned to Earps licking her lips — as if to say ‘bring it on’. In the subsequent penalty shootout, she used her experience to psych out Nigeria’s takers.

Three years ago Earps thought her England career was over. Now, she is two games from becoming a World Cup winner. From the international wilderness to the world’s best, it has been an unforgettable journey.

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