KATHRYN BATTE: Hail Mary! Man United and England star Earps has made goalkeeping cool for kids… and it could help boost number of female keepers at all levels of the game

• Charismatic Mary Earps has become something of an icon over last two years
• Man United and England star is tipped to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year
• Click HERE to listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’

Every now and again I will get a desperate text from a friend playing Sunday league football. ‘Can you play in goal for us this weekend? Do you know anyone else who can?’

Throughout my short and largely unsuccessful playing career between the sticks, there was always a lack of female goalkeepers — whether it be at grassroots level, university or local amateur leagues. I was one of few people who seemed to enjoy the position — though I will admit, I was a failed outfield player who ended up with the gloves because I was tall.

For a long time, goalkeeping in the women’s game was not cool. Actually, it was brutal. ‘I like women’s football but the keepers are rubbish,’ is a phrase I have heard several times.

But England’s game against Belgium on Friday felt like a turning point. Many of the 28,000 fans who turned up were there to see one player — Mary Earps.

Every time the England keeper touched the ball there were loud chants of, ‘Mary, Mary, Mary!’ The only time I have heard something similar at a women’s game was when French fans chanted ‘Wendie, Wendie, Wendie!’ for their captain, centre back Wendie Renard, at the 2019 World Cup.

Charismatic Mary Earps has become something of an icon over the last two years

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Goalkeepers rarely get first-name status in songs — even in the men’s game — but Earps has become something of an icon over the last two years.

She is the favourite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year, came fifth in the Ballon d’Or on Monday and will no doubt win the FIFA Best goalkeeper award for a second year running.

Had there been a female equivalent of the Yashin Trophy — which is awarded to the best male goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or ceremony — she would have won that, too.

All of this was unthinkable when Earps, 30, considered retiring three years ago.

She recalls crying on her kitchen floor after failing to earn a recall to the England squad, then deciding to give football two more years before quitting after making peace with her international career being over.

The arrival of Sarina Wiegman changed everything. Earps has been the No 1 since the Dutch manager’s first game in charge in 2021 and has not looked back.

You have to wonder how much Nike regret their decision not to sell replicas of her shirt at the World Cup or Euros.

Limited quantities were finally put on sale earlier this month and sold out in record time. Several supporters could be seen wearing goalkeeper tops with ‘Earps, 1’ on the back on Friday and there will likely be another rush when more shirts are released later this year.

It was Earps’s determination to prove that young, aspiring goalkeepers should feel as important as outfield players that saw Nike eventually reverse their decision.

The Man United and England star is tipped to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year

What makes Earps special is not just her ability on the pitch but her personality off it. People connect with her on a human level. She is relatable and charismatic. There has been a rise in young girls becoming goalkeepers and much of that is down to Earps.

Moreover, the next generation of goalkeepers will probably go on to be even better than England’s No 1. The first time Earps had a full-time goalkeeping coach was when she joined Reading at the age of 23.

Young keepers coming through the ranks, like Earps’s Manchester United team-mate Safia Middleton-Patel, have had much better access to specialised coaching. Middleton-Patel, who is highly regarded by United and Wales, has the potential to be one of the world’s best.

There is a real opportunity for the FA and England to use Earps’s profile to encourage more girls to take up goalkeeping. The governing body invited 103 youngsters to St George’s Park last week to meet all four of the keepers in the Lionesses squad.

The girls, aged between 10 and 16, were presented with shirts and took part in a Q&A session.

‘This is really the great purpose in why I do what I do,’ Earps said. ‘I love playing football, I love representing my country and playing at the highest level, but to be able to give back to people, see kids coming through and to be able to change the way things are done and give kids opportunities that I never had.

‘It was unbelievable, very pinch-me to have 103 kids there. It’s just brilliant for them to have that access and have their own personal shirt. Obviously, it’s been a hot topic and I know there are going to be more shirts coming at the end of this year, so I’m really excited about that.’

What seems certain is that, in years to come, there will be no dearth of goalkeepers to go around the professional, amateur and Sunday league ranks.

Many of the fans who turned up to watch England on Friday night were there to see Earps

The FA invited 103 youngsters to St George’s Park last week to meet the England goalkeepers

Ireland star McCabe emulates Keane 

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe may just be in the best form of her life. 

The left winger already has three goals in four games for Arsenal this season, including two belters in their 2-1 victory over Bristol City. 

But her best performance of the season came in her country’s 5-1 victory over Albania on Friday. McCabe scored a hat-trick and assisted Kyra Carusa for her two strikes. 

While McCabe’s goals were impressive, the best moment of the game came when she won the ball back from an Albania corner and ran half the length of the pitch to set up Carusa’s first. 

McCabe’s recent performances have more than shown why she became the first Irish player since Roy Keane to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.

Jenni Hermoso marked her return by scoring an 89th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory over Italy

Hermoso winner was football gift

Sometimes football scripts write themselves. Back in the Spain team for the first time since the Luis Rubiales scandal, Jenni Hermoso scored an 89th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory over Italy.

Manager Montse Tome had not picked Hermoso for last month’s matches against Sweden and Switzerland in order to ‘protect’ her after she pressed charges for sexual assault against Rubiales, the former Spanish football president who was on Monday banned from football for three years.

‘What better joy than to get back here and feel good again, to score the goal that gets the win. Now I can only smile,’ Hermoso said. ‘Life sometimes gives you little gifts. Today I thought about a lot of people behind (me). Thanks to them, I enjoyed football once again.’

Hot shot Hughes joins 100 club

If you thought Paul Mullin’s record of 83 goals in 107 games for Wrexham was good, have a look at the stats of forward Rosie Hughes. 

The forward netted her 100th goal in just her 46th Wrexham appearance in a 3-1 victory over The New Saints on Sunday. 

That’s an average of more than two goals a game, if you were wondering.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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