Mary Earps: 'We'll be connected for life'

Mary Earps has spoken about some of the memories from her glittering England career, following her retirement from international football last year.

The Lionesses legend was at Wembley for a special reception before the game with Spain in April, and sat down for an in-depth chat on her international career which you can watch on the official England app.

Earps was Sarina Wiegman’s number one for the groundbreaking UEFA EURO 2022 title win on home soil, before her heroics in the penalty shootout against Brazil in the inaugural Finalissima saw her add another medal to her collection.

The Nottingham-born stopper was then between the sticks as the Lionesses became the first England senior team to reach a World Cup Final on foreign soil, when they played Spain at the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia.

And it was an emotional evening at Wembley, as Earps had the chance to say farewell to the Lionesses supporters and her former squad mates.

“I'm so thankful for the amazing people that I've met and memories I've made along the way,” said Earps.

“The thing that you remember more than anything is where you were, who you were with, what it felt like, the conversations, the laughs and the ups and downs along the way.

“And I think those experiences bring you together, give you something in common with people in a way that other people probably can't understand.

“I think we'll always be connected for life by those things. Life will take us in different directions, football will take us in different directions and that's the nature of the game

“But we'll always be connected by our shared experiences, and I think that's such a beautiful thing in the world that we live in right now. Football changes quickly, but we have those shared memories with people and friends for life.

“We're all joined by the love of football and we’ll hopefully be sitting there in our rocking chairs going: ‘I remember that time, 2022, talking with our kids and grandkids.

“Even though I'm not a current Lioness anymore, I still talk to and see the girls and I'd like to think that's the way it's always going to be.”

Looking back to her favourite moment, it’s unsurprisingly the EURO title win on home soil which takes the honour.

“I'll never be sick of that,” she admits.

“It was obviously historic, like when you think about that, I mean there's just so many amazing memories.

“I’ve had so many amazing conversations since, with people telling me what they were doing, where they were when we won, how it made them feel and the effect that it's had on their daughters, nieces, granddaughters, mothers, parents or whoever.

“It was such a special thing and I was trying to make the most of every single second. It was just incredible. The team were amazing and the tournament was great.

“It's hard to put into words, you wish you could bottle that feeling and just maybe take a sip from it every now and again when you're not having such a good day.

“It's the favourite thing I've ever been a part of, by far the greatest achievement that I've been able to play a small part in.”

Watch the full interview with Mary now in the official England app when she discusses her early days with England and how much her Lionesses career fills her with pride.