6 days ago
No Earps, no problem: Hannah Hampton cements position with Terry Butcher moment
After her penalty shoot-out heroics it was perhaps no surprise Hannah Hampton was a woman in demand immediately after England's quarter-final victory over Sweden.
The Lionesses goalkeeper was on post-match press conference duties after being named player of the match but the questions were interrupted when she took a FaceTime call from her agent, Paul Crockford, who was with her friends and family.
'Paul, I'm in a presser, look!' Hampton said as she held her phone up to show a number of people cheering on her screen. 'I'll call you back.'
"Paul I'm in a presser! I'll call you back!" 🤣
Hannah Hampton's post-match press conference took an unexpected turn when it was interrupted by a FaceTime call 📞
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) July 18, 2025
It had been a defining night in Hampton's international career. The goalkeeper had saved two penalties in a chaotic shoot-out and made a string of saves to keep her team in the game when they had trailed 2-0.
She had put her body on the line for her country, taking an elbow to the nose from a set-piece and finishing the game with a tampon in one of her nostrils. It was a Terry Butcher-esque image to see the bloodied and battered Hampton rise to the occasion. 'She only needs one nostril!' Chloe Kelly joked after the game.
Hampton is a fighter – and she has had to be for much of her life and career.
She was born with strabismus, an eye condition which affects depth perception. Hampton underwent multiple operations as a child and was told by doctors that she would not be able to play sport because of that inability to judge distances, but she has continually defied such predictions.
She has previously joked that being a goalkeeper, where being aware of the ball's exact location is quite an important part of the job, 'doesn't really make a lot of sense'. It makes her stops in the shoot-out all the more impressive.
Hampton referenced after the game how she had endured a 'difficult couple of years within the England environment'. There are many components to that.
She considered quitting football after reports emerged of her allegedly being dropped from the England team because of a poor attitude in 2022, which the goalkeeper insisted were inaccurate.
Sarina Wiegman said at the time that Hampton had some 'personal issues' to resolve. By 2023, Wiegman considered them addressed and recalled her.
Hampton was an unused player at Euro 2022 and the World Cup the following year but emerged as a genuine challenger to Mary Earps, who had been No 1 at both tournaments, at the start of 2024.
Earps was arguably the most popular member of the Lionesses squad at the time having won BBC Sports Personality of the Year for her heroics at the World Cup and her battle with Nike over failing to sell her goalkeeper shirt at the tournament.
Hampton got her chance when Earps picked up an injury in May last year and her performances in crucial qualifiers against France and Sweden were impressive enough for her to retain her place. The two goalkeepers shared game time as Wiegman tried to decide who was No 1.
The answer finally came when Hampton started back-to-back games with Belgium in April and Wiegman admitted the Chelsea player was 'a little bit ahead'.
Earps, having been told she would be No 2 at this tournament, then made the shock decision to retire and Hampton – through no fault of her own – was thrust into the spotlight. Earps's retirement added an extra layer of pressure ahead of her first tournament as No 1 and she had to contend with negativity from some supporters.
'It's hard when you see English fans not want you in goal,' Hampton told ITV before the tournament. 'I've not done anything to make you hate me. Yes, your favourite player has retired, that's not my decision. I haven't put that in her mind. She has come to that decision herself. It just goes back to proving them wrong.'
Hampton has certainly won over any doubters. Her excellent distribution was key to her ousting Earps and she showed why with her sensational pass to Alessia Russo in the build-up to Lauren James's goal against Netherlands.
Later in that game, the England fans behind the goal could be heard chanting: 'England's No 1.'
But it was against Sweden where Hampton came of age. She was partly at fault for their second goal, leaving it too late to narrow the angle and giving Stina Blackstenius too much space to finish into the far corner. But then came a number of key saves which kept the Lionesses in the game.
Much had been made of whether Hampton could match the aura of Earps. Would she have the character, the confidence and the gamesmanship Earps so often displayed during big games and shoot-outs. In the end, none of that mattered. Hampton is a different personality to her predecessor. She is more reserved but has a charming and humorous side to her – which was evident when she answered that FaceTime call.
More than that, she is one of, if not the best, technical goalkeeper at this tournament. She was rightly mobbed by her team-mates when Sweden missed their final penalty.
'I think the girls have got behind me a lot. They know how tough it's been for me while being in and around the England environment,' Hampton said after the game. 'To be able to go out and help them tonight, for the whole team to put on a performance like we did, it's a lovely moment.
'It's been a difficult couple of years. All the girls were ecstatic, they've 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.'
After a night of blood, sweat and tears, Hampton proved why she is England's No 1 – and will be for the foreseeable future.
