Lauren Hemp revisits her top five England games

From record-breaking wins to England trebles, at the age of 25, Lauren Hemp has already experienced three major tournaments and two EURO triumphs.

With plenty to choose from, the Lionesses and Manchester City forward talks through five of her most memorable matches.

England 20-0 Latvia, 30 November 2021

A first goal – or four – in a Lionesses shirt came in a record-breaking win over Latvia in Doncaster for Hemp, who was one of four players at the treble, along with Beth Mead, Ellen White and Alessia Russo.

The forward opened her account with 18 minutes played before doubling her tally on the stroke of half time. And goals three and four for Hemp came in the second half.

“In my first couple of years I was struggling to get a goal, then they came like London buses!” she said. “It was a great moment and one of my favourite ones in the shirt.

“It was a great game in general. I remember Ellen was absolutely buzzing when she scored because she then broke the record. So many records broken and a lot of proud moments to look back on and appreciate.”

It marked the largest victory for either a men’s or women’s England side, while it also saw Ellen White surpass Kelly Smith as the Lionesses’ all-time leading scorer.

“It’s always good because in my position, I love getting on the ball and making things happen,” explained Hemp. “When you get so much of the ball, it's always great as a forward player to do that.”

England 8-0 Norway, 11 July 2022

Another record-breaking win saw England advance to the knockout stages of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 with a 100 per cent record.

And Hemp got in on the act in Brighton, making it 2-0 after Georgia Stanway opened the scoring.

“Norway are a tough side but, in that game, we made them look kind of mediocre,” remembered Hemp. “It was a great occasion.

“I scored in that game but I remember it was being checked by VAR. That was my first goal at a EUROs, so that was a very special moment for me. Being at one of my first tournaments and especially being on home soil was nice.

“It all happened pretty quickly. I know that it was a great cross and I was in the right place at the right time. I remember jumping up in the air with excitement.”

England 2-1 Germany, 31 July 2022

Having scored her first tournament goal in an 8-0 drubbing of Norway during the group stage, EURO 2022 was already shaping up to be unforgettable, topped off only by going on to win it at Wembley.

“It's definitely one of the best days in my life,” she said. “Being at Wembley and it being the first time that we won was such a special moment. It was kind of like a ‘pinch me’ moment.

“Getting it over the line and winning the EUROs, it wasn’t after that you realised how much the women's game and women's football has changed for the better and now you see there's so much accessibility for girls wanting to play football. That day just brought us to new heights.”

And it was Hemp’s corner that caused chaos inside the box before Chloe Kelly found the back of the net to win it for Sarina Wiegman’s team.

“It’s hard to forget,” she added. “It was such an amazing moment. In some of the photos, I'm actually really close to Chloe celebrating and I always think to myself, ‘how did I get across so quickly?’ It's obviously because we're all so excited it was unbelievable.”

Australia 1-3 England, 16 August 2023

The Lionesses plotted a route to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, with wins over Colombia in the quarter-final and Australia in the semi-final – two ties which Hemp scored in.

However, her 71st minute strike, which saw England re-take the lead, against the tournament hosts stands out as a highlight.

“I think that's probably one of, if not the best games and most enjoyable games that I've played as a Lioness,” said Hemp.

“I remember scoring the goal to make it 2-1 because pretty much a few minutes before that, Sam had just scored an incredible goal to make it 1-1. That was a really proud moment for me.

“Towards the end of the game, when we were up against it a bit, I remember running with the ball and passing it to Less to score.”

And victory in Sydney booked England’s place in the final, reaching back-to-back tournament showpieces.

“I remember picking up my first player of the match trophy and it was this big one – it was literally like a normal trophy in itself!” she laughed. “I couldn't believe that it had happened really. That was a really memorable game.”

England 1-1 Spain (3-1 on penalties), 27 July 2025

A tournament that delivered no shortage of drama and excitement ended with England lifting the trophy in Basel – a fitting culmination.

“We were up against it and different things were in the way of us getting to where we wanted to be,” explained Hemp. “You could always see we were never out, sometimes down but never out.

“We managed to get it back and I think we always knew in the final that anything was possible and that we could do anything as a team when you put your mind to it.”

It came down to penalties once again, with Hemp on the pitch when Chloe Kelly famously converted her spot-kick.

“I remember being absolutely knackered and exhausted because that was about my third extra time in the space of two weeks,” she recalled.

“I knew as soon as Chloe went up to take that winning penalty that she wasn't going miss. That was a fantastic memory of mine because both the EUROs were different and that's what makes them both so special."