Carter: 'Not everything is won in the first game'

Wednesday’s game was amazing. Obviously, we were all very disappointed after the France game so just to get together, stick together, put in a performance like that and bounce back after a really big setback was huge for the team.

I love that kind of game where there’s a lot of duels and it’s a high intensity match. That gets the best out of me and the team so it’s always a fun game to be involved in.

I loved Ella’s celebration after her goal, because the whole squad is just supportive and we’re going to need the whole squad for this tournament.

For Ella herself, to miss out in the first game and then come back and put in a performance like that in the second game, she really felt the love from the side and everyone there so it was great to see her celebrating like that.

It's important to stick together and for me, Niamh [Charles] and Esme [Morgan] have been great. We’ve been doing extra bits after training together and they’re so positive so that’s really refreshing to be around.

After the game, they both came to me and were really supportive, so I’m just really grateful for those guys.

Around the camp myself, I’d say I’m pretty chilled really, especially with football. The way I see it, most of the time I think you just have to come in and do the best that you can and it either will be or won’t be enough.

Usually I can switch off pretty easily when I’m not playing football. So if I’m not training, in the gym or in a meeting, I’m pretty switched off.

After that France game, I wasn’t as chilled and as happy because I found that one really tough to move on from. But once we did the analysis and started training again and were re-focused, we moved onto the next task.

But it definitely helps getting out of the hotel. Just getting away from the football environment with family and friends who don’t want to talk about football helps.

I’m lucky enough to have some family and friends out here, so I’ve been trying to see them as much as possible.

Luckily the Lake isn’t too far away, so it’s nice to switch off and focus on something other than football and then when we come back here, we’re ready to work hard again.

Our base camp is amazing though. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a place like this and how it’s been decorated to make it feel like home makes it beautiful.

Training has been really good too. Matchday plus one training has been really hard and the staff are putting on the sessions to help the players and also enjoy them.

I know myself from the past that MD+1 training, I used to hate it, because you haven’t played in the game as much as you might’ve liked and then you’ve got to go again – that can be really tough.

For those who have played in the game, it’s about recovery so things like biking, stretching, mobility. And we’re lucky enough to have a beautiful spa here so it’s good to switch off.

I’ve learnt over time how best to manage myself physically, my body, my expectations, recover in the right way and be ready to go again.

Now that it’s my third tournament, we just gradually pick up these things and how to be the best teammate you can be.

It's really tough to be away from home for almost a month and I find it tough trying to figure out for me how to be the best teammate is something I’ve figured out over that time.

I remember that not everything is won in the first game of football at a tournament. It’s about how you progress in a tournament, not just how you start.

The stakes are higher at a tournament – if you don’t win, you go home – so it’s about managing that pressure and expectation for the team. On a normal ten-day camp, you know what’s coming but in a tournament, you have to be prepared for the unexpected.

Away from England, I’m loving my time playing in the US. It’s been amazing, it’s a place I’ve really started to love playing football again. We do travel a lot, but the way I see it as that every time we travel somewhere it’s a new adventure and I find that really exciting.

We’ll start to focus on Wales now, training hard to try and get everything right for that game.