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As Smilla Holmberg blazed her decisive penalty over the bar, Hannah Hampton was swarmed by a charge of celebrating England players. A tissue still stuffed up her nose to stem the flow of blood as the first notes of Sweet Caroline rang round the Stadion Letzigrund, this was a career-defining moment.
The image of her continuing with a bloodied nose will be remembered just as much as her heroics in the penalty shootout that followed as England progressed to the Euro 2025 semi-finals. England came back from two goals behind to draw 2-2 as Hampton claimed the player of the match accolade after they triumphed 3-2 against Sweden on penalties.
“We said at half-time 'We don’t want to go home’ so we knew it was down to us to turn the game around and that is what we did,” she said. “We know that whoever is on that pitch from right at the back to up top, they’re going to put in 100 per cent for that team. We know that we’re going to be fighting for every person on that field whether they make mistake, the next one is there to back them up.
“I’m just glad that we all stuck together. That is one thing we never wanted to do, we never wanted to turn on each other. "If the outcome was reversed and we were going home, we didn’t want to feel like we all got on each other's backs.”
It was a togetherness that saw the Lionesses turn around an otherwise underwhelming display inside three minutes as Chloe Kelly’s introduction in the 78th minute brought greater threat to the England attack. Goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang brought England back from 2-0 down and the fight could be found all over the pitch.
Bronze was seen taping her own quad during extra-time, Lauren James and Leah Williamson both took knocks to their ankle while Hampton’s nose streamed with blood. “All I remember was that I was going up for that ball and the next thing I know is someone has elbowed me, I think,” said Hampton.
“I thought I got away with it at first but as I sat up it just started streaming. But as a few of the girls said, I’m better with one nostril so I think I might have it again the next game. “It shows that ‘proper England’ is back. We’re going in the right direction, and everyone was putting their bodies on the line out there, literally.
“Everyone is a bit battered and bruised. We’ll definitely be taking the next couple of days to recover ready for the next game. “But you know everyone has got your back out there and tackles were made when they needed to be.”
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Hampton herself has not had the easiest run to the England number one spot. Just this year she has come under immense scrutiny as Mary Earps announced her retirement from international football after Sarina Wiegman had said Hampton was ahead of her in the pecking order.
It led fans to suggest Earps was worthier of the jersey than Hampton, with the 24-year-old speaking out before the tournament about the difficulty of dealing with such perceptions. "It’s hard when you see English fans not want you in goal. I’ve not done anything to make you hate me,” she told ITV Sport.
But if she hadn't already convinced fans of her place in the team with pinpoint passing against the Netherlands, the Chelsea ‘keeper will have silenced any doubters with her display on Thursday. “It’s been a difficult couple of years in the England environment. All the girls were ecstatic, they’ve seen all the hard work I’ve put in and how difficult it has been,” she reflected.
“They’ve helped me to get to where I am now in being happy to wear an England shirt again. I just want to do whatever I can for the team to get that win. “I don’t care if I have one touch in a game or multiple, I just want to do whatever I can to get what we deserve as a team.
“It was a big team performance today. I’m just happy for the whole group of girls. We didn’t want to go home.” Hampton was instrumental in preventing such a fate. Sweden failed to score five of the seven penalties they took, with Hampton saving well from Filippa Angeldahl and Sofia Jakobsson.
Her Swedish counterpart Jennifer Falk also produced heroics in the net but when she stepped up to take Sweden’s fifth penalty to win the shootout, she sent her spot-kick over the bar. “I was panicking about the fact we didn’t have any data on [Falk] on where she was going to go, so I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is down to me,’” recalled Hampton.
“But I was a bit surprised. She did unbelievably well in the penalty shootout itself with all the saves she did. I was thinking she might just try to focus on saving them like I did. “But it’s always a high-pressure moment, a penalty shootout, so she had enough bravery to step up for Sweden.
“She’s seen as a hero for sure with the amount she saved and how she kept Sweden in it right to the very end.”
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