Lionesses hero Hannah Hampton reveals incredible conversation with England fans before Chloe Kelly's decisive penalty
The Lionesses successfully defended their title of European Champions after coming from behind to beat the world champions 3-1 on penalties.
Advertisement
4
Hannah Hampton was an England hero of Euro 2025
Credit: Getty
4
Hampton saved two penalties in the shootout
Credit: Getty
4
Chloe Kelly then scored the winning penalty
Credit: EPA
4
But she revealed she missed the decisive moment Chloe Kelly
Credit: ITV
Hampton saw Beth Mead's opening penalty saved by counterpart Cata Coll before Patricia Guijarro scored past her.
But the Chelsea shot-stopper was not about to allow herself to be beaten by Spain's Mariona Caldentey - who netted La Roja's opener in the first half - for a second time, diving right to level the scoring.
She then saved again from reigning Women's Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí to hand England the advantage after Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles both scored.
Leah Williamson saw her kick saved by Coll, but team-mate Salma Paralluelo shot wide of Hampton's left post, leaving the decisive kick down to super sub Chloe Kelly.
Advertisement
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
what a leg-end England icon Lucy Bronze reveals she played whole Euro 2025 with broken leg
And she duly delivered from 12 yards, blasting the ball into the top corner.
However, in all the drama of the occasion, the goalkeeping hero admitted she actually missed the moment Kelly scored the winning penalty.
Instead, the 24-year-old was trying to discover if the Arsenal star would win them the shootout if she scored.
Speaking to ITV, she said: "To be honest I don't really know what was going on.
Advertisement
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
"I turned around to the fans to ask if Chloe scores do we win and they just yelled at me.
"So I don't know what the answer to that was and as soon as I saw her run off I knew that we had won."
Chloe Kelly completes Lionesses' greatest comeback yet to retain Euros title
Her shootout heroics were backed up by a "cheat sheet" sticker she kept in her undershirt sleeve during the shootout.
Advertisement
Hampton added to the broadcaster: "I don't think it's going to sink in for a while what we've just achieved. We're the team who never gives up and we got the reward for that today...
"It's an amazing moment and I don't think I'm going to come to terms with it for a while...
"[The best day of my life] It's up there, that's for sure. There's a lot of things I had to deal with before the tournament and a lot of the things the team helped get me through.
"Some really horrible moments. To be standing here right now as back-to-back Euros winner is incredible moment."
Advertisement
Hampton was named as the Player of the Match for the final, with Uefa's technical team giving particular praise for her passing and brace of saves in the shootout.
This tournament has seen the England No1 defy any expectations of how she might have done.
She was thrust into the spotlight by the sudden retirement of Mary Earps before the tournament, while she also defied medical advice and overcame all of the odds to become a national hero.
The Birmingham-born ace was born with a condition called strabismus - which effectively means her eyes are misaligned with one turned in an opposite direction to the other.
Advertisement
A trio of surgeries by the time she was three failed to solve the issue but there was no stopping our super stopper as she refused to let the condition stop her from joining Stoke City's centre of excellence.
But there was another shock in store for her when a check-up at the doctor's uncovered another issue when she was aged 11.
Hampton was told that she had a depth perception problem, which means she has difficulties with judging distances and spatial relationships.
Medics told her becoming a pro footballer - never mind a GOALKEEPER - was out of the question as they urged her to consider something different.
Advertisement
But nothing could stop Hampton from achieving her dream, and tonight was exactly what dreams are made.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
4 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Callum Wilson agrees immediate Premier League transfer return as England striker joins Newcastle rivals
Two other Prem clubs were also linked CAL ON ME CAL ON ME Callum Wilson agrees immediate Premier League transfer return as England striker joins Newcastle rivals Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CALLUM WILSON has agreed to join West Ham on a one-year deal. The striker became a free agent this summer after his Newcastle contract expired. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Callum Wilson has agreed to join West Ham on a two-year deal Credit: Getty There had been interest from newly-promoted Leeds and Everton. But according to The Athletic, Wilson has agreed to join West Ham. SunSport revealed last week how the Hammers had opened talks to sign the former England international. Wilson had also turned down a pay-as-you play deal at Newcastle, who decided against taking up an option to extend his deal this summer. Newcastle decided against triggering their one-year option on the forward which would have kept him on the same wage of about £45,000-a-week. The 33-year-old has long been admired at the London Stadium - has already completed a medical. His new deal is heavily performance incentive-based. Wilson scored 47 goals in 113 appearances for the Magpies, but has struggled with back and hamstring injuries during his time with the club. 4 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Newcastle were rocked by the news that star man Alexander Isak is looking to leave the club this summer. The Swede missed Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia while champions Liverpool saw their opening of around £110million rejected. Newcastle have launched a bid of close to £70m for RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko in an effort to potentially replace Isak. Meanwhile West Ham released both Danny Ings and Michail Antonio at the end of last season. 4 Alexander Isak wants to leave Newcastle this summer Credit: Getty
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside Arsenal's summer, from Alexander Isak transfer interest to Max Dowman's emergence and Berta's sleepless nights
The north Londoners are keen on making a seventh addition to their squad in the coming weeks MIKEL ARTETA will feel the heat like never before this season – and he got his first taste of it in more ways than one on Arsenal's Asia pre-season tour. With the roof closed during training inside Singapore's National Stadium – the venue for their first two games of the trip – SunSport understands the squad and coaching staff were taken aback by the suffocating humidity. 8 Mikel Arteta is under immense pressure to deliver the Premier League title to the Emirates Credit: GETTY 8 The Spaniard's final preparations for the new season have taken place in the Gunners' pre-season tour of Asia Credit: GETTY 8 Arteta has made six additions to his squad this summer in a bid to win the Prem Credit: GETTY 8 New sporting director Andrea Berta has played an equally as big a role in the slew of arrivals at the Emirates this summer Credit: GETTY And in their luxury Rosewood hotel in Hong Kong – the day before their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham – boss Arteta was unexpectedly mobbed by at least 50 fans in a tight corridor outside the lifts near the lobby. The Spaniard asked for calm, signed a few shirts before his security team intervened and he was ushered away for a rare bit of peace and quiet. SunSport has been told that Arteta – an intense, obsessive character – made a conscious effort to try and enjoy this tour, to embrace the challenges of being half way around the world and put a positive spin on them. In fact, upon landing in Singapore, SunSport understands that Arteta and managing director Richard Garlick gave a rousing speech to the touring party, with 'energy' a key phrase. READ MORE ON ARSENAL NOT HOLDING ON Ex-Arsenal star has contract terminated in blunt 52-word statement And when their first training session had to be delayed by several hours because of severe thunderstorms, Arteta laughed it off as 'adapting to the context'. But watching him up close across their 13-day tour, Arteta appeared as laser-focused and detailed as ever, and perhaps even more so, knowing that damaging questions will be asked should the Gunners fail to win the Premier League or Champions League this term after three second-placed league finishes on the spin. In an open training session in Singapore on July 25, Arteta was seen getting more involved than he usually would, pushing coaches out of the way to close down players in drills and taking no prisoners, whether it was first-team superstar Bukayo Saka or 15-year-old Max Dowman, setting the tone and leading by example. The drills themselves were also immensely complicated to watch, let alone to take part in, with four groups attacking different goals simultaneously, perhaps a sign that Arteta wants more fluidity in his side's game this season, having been accused last term of being too rigid and predictable in attack. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 8 The emergence of 15-year-old Max Dowman in pre-season has been a positive for Mikel Arteta Credit: GETTY 8 The Spaniard has high hopes for the teenager Credit: GETTY But nothing Arteta did could distract the thousands of fans from the news that was already dominating the tour: the imminent arrival of Viktor Gyokeres. During that open training session, fans in the stands could be heard chanting: 'We want Gyokeres'. A day later – on July 26 – it was finally announced. Arsenal vs Tottenham fan debate battle | Stoppage Time It had been a slog of a deal to get over the line. On July 24 – two days before Gyokeres flew to Singapore – SunSport understands that senior officials were still desperately trying to iron out details surrounding the future add-ons owed to Sporting Lisbon. Gyokeres admitted to SunSport in Hong Kong that the past few weeks – the waiting, the uncertainty, the immense spotlight and media duties upon signing – had taken its toll on him, and understandably was not rushed into action by Arteta, given just 13 minutes off the bench against Spurs in an attempt to ease him into his new surroundings. But his aura is there for all to see. Arteta was keen to see the look in the eyes of the squad when Gyokeres walked through the door, and he liked what he saw. Arteta knows this is a different sort of Arsenal signing, one for the here and now instead of the future, and there is an acceptance that they will need to slightly change their way of playing to suit his style, like Manchester City and Pep Guardiola did with Erling Haaland. Do not expect to see the big Swedish No.9 coming short and linking up play. He lives and breathes in the six-yard box to finish with a deadly accuracy, and it is understood that is all Arteta will judge him on come the end of the season. At the end of one of his first sessions, Gyokeres spent a considerable time heading Ben White crosses from the right flank into an empty net. A sign of things to come? Gyokeres was not the only striker considered in the window. SunSport understands the Gunners had a brief interest in signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle, but quickly moved on to other targets after learning of his £100m-plus valuation. Red Bull Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko was also a target, but were put off by some of the parameters laid out in early negotiations and viewed it as too much of a gamble. In the end, Gyokeres ticked all the boxes. Arsenal's leadership team – including executive vice-chair Tim Lewis and managing director Richard Garlick – were in constant communication this summer. One of the key words used when deciding on a player being 'robustness' following last season's injury issues – something they insist they can no longer compromise on if they want to challenge on multiple fronts. But there is an acceptance that a lot of their absences were out of their hands, such as defender Gabriel, who required hamstring surgery after clocking a sprint speed of around 35kph to catch Adama Traore in April's 2-1 win over Fulham – something he had not done for weeks having spent a period back home in Brazil on international duty. Sitting on a plane for hours did not help. The influence of new sporting director Andrea Berta cannot be underestimated either. His appointment in March was one months in the making. 8 Arsenal made a statement this summer by signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Libson Credit: AP The Italian's name was instantly discussed by the leadership team in November when Edu announced his shock departure. After Lewis and Garlick met with Berta in December, Arteta spoke with him soon after before a final meeting with co-owner Josh Kroenke. They were all convinced he was the right man. And they have been rewarded, with six signings made between July 1 and July 26. His tough negotiation style, as well as his financial creativity in getting deals over the line, has left many impressed. SunSport understands that there are those at Arsenal who have jokingly questioned when Berta gets any sleep in between negotiations. The emergence of Dowman has also been one of the surprises of the tour. 8 The Gunners were briefly interested in signing wantaway Newcastle striker Alexander Isak Credit: PA The Hale End teenager's name was met wildly by fans whenever it was mentioned by the stadium announcers in Singapore and Hong Kong, a reception similar to Gyokeres. Arteta understands the clamour for him to now be involved next term, and appreciates he will have to take the noise from fans if he is not given his Prem debut sooner rather than later. SunSport understands the data Dowman produced for the youth teams last term matched that of several first-team stars, and that he has earned his chance to make the step up. Dowman's impressive performances off the bench against AC Milan, Newcastle and Tottenham have only reinforced this view, but Arteta is also wary of pushing him too much too soon. Especially given that, physically, he is at risk of being roughed up by Prem opposition defenders. The heat is on Arteta, but there is a feeling that in all aspects, on and off the pitch, Arsenal have never been better prepared to start a campaign with some oomph.
Belfast Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Lionesses' Euros triumph shows why it's time to start closing the gender pay gap in football
The victory of the Lionesses, winning their second Euros in a row by beating current world champions Spain, reaffirmed the very high level of achievement of this particular national side. Their historic triumph, lifting more silverware against another top team in Europe, is an extraordinary feat which everyone now recognises after decades in which women's football was regarded as a joke by mainstream broadcasters.
