Sunday, December 22, 2024

Karen Bardsley column: Is England’s number one shirt in Hannah Hampton’s hands?

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Keating, who only turned 20 in the summer, exceeded expectation with City last season, and performed well above expected levels, in terms of the shots she saved.

That earned her an England call-up at the end of 2023, but she has been rotated with Ayaka Yamashita this season, and has not started a WSL game.

Moorhouse is much older at 29 and has not had a straightforward path into the England set-up – she was only called up for the first time in the summer, and is yet to win a full cap, but the way she is playing at the moment is what justifies her place.

Equally, you could argue Sophie Baggaley deserves to be in the squad based on how well she’s playing for Brighton, but Moorhouse’s selection is a reminder to everyone that just because someone is not playing in the WSL, it doesn’t mean they are not capable players.

Moorhouse left the WSL in 2020 to move to Bordeaux in France and, since 2022, has been with Orlando Pride in the United States.

Her story is an example of how all players need to find coaches and environments where they feel comfortable, understood and allowed to do what they are good at. It’s also a reminder that no one’s path is every straightforward or easy and that you have to be determined and resilient to make it to the top.

If you put all of that together, that’s how you see the best of any player and, in the past and present, it applies to Hampton and Earps too.

Karen Bardsley was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

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