20 Questions with Princess Ademiluyi

1. You're packing your suitcase for the World Cup. What is one essential item that you're packing?
 
My PlayStation. I'm a bit of a gamer. I think a couple of girls can say that too. I'm a bit of a Fortnite kid.
 
2. What is one luxury item you’re packing?
 
My MacBook. I'm on that 24/7. I'm a coder – I’m coding websites because I have a fashion brand.
 
3. You’re boarding the plane to Poland. How do you like to pass the time on a plane journey?
 
It depends on my mood because sometimes I'm a little bit jumpy at the airport. I'm chatting away with whoever's sitting next to me, but then sometimes I'm in locking in mode. If I've got something to do with my brand, then I'm working on that. Right now, Beauty in Black is out on Netflix, so I've downloaded every single episode, so that's what I’m going to be on when we get to Poland to switch off a little bit.
 
4. Who do you usually sit with on the plane?
 
Probably Chloe Sarwie. We just catch a vibe. If I'm in my chatty mood, we're definitely dancing on that plane – we're learning dance celebrations type stuff. She’s cool.
 
5. What is your favourite thing about staying in a hotel and what do you look for in a hotel?
 
A nice shower. I'm a bathroom girly. I like to take a little fire mirror picture if it's nice in there. 

6. Who would be your roommate?
 
Kaiya [Jota] is already my roommate. We've been roommates for the past year, so we're comfortable with each other.
 
7. How do you spend your down-time on camp?
 
I’m just designing clothes. Away from football, this is what my passion is and it’s what I love, so I feel like once that's good, I'm good on the field as well.
 
8. What kind of character or personality would you say you are in the group?
 
I would say what everyone would describe me as is unapologetically myself. That's it. It just doesn't change for nobody. That's what I would say.
 
9. What do you miss most from home when you’re away?
 
My own room because I'm into record players, so when I don't have those things, I don't listen to the music the same way. So, I’d say probably my own space and the space that I've created. But when I'm at home, I'm usually in London trying to do a shoot.
 
10. What is your favourite meal to eat on camp?
 
Game day, I’m quite easy – I'll go a Bolognese. But everybody knows if you have granola there, I'm eating all the granola. I'd have just granola and milk. That’s my favourite meal. Or custard by itself. I don’t need any crumble – just custard is fine!
 
11. What is your pre-match routine?
 
What I've found is that I can't be too locked in before, so I just act like it's another day. I work on anything that's not football, so then by the time I'm on the bus on the way to the game, that's when the music is in. I'm very open to her anything as long as I've prayed and internally said my manifestations, then the rest is the universe and reality.

12. What genre of music do you listen to before a game? Do you have a favourite song or album?
 
I listen to a whole bunch of genres but I listen to predominantly rock music. I listen to Alice in Chains, Deftones. That's my go to – it’s hardcore. Crystal Castles too – that sort of vibe. 
 
13. What do you enjoy most about being on camp?
 
It’s very competitive. Representing your country is the main thing but when you're on the pitch, you know you have to show up and I like the demand and I like a bit of pressure. I like playing in front of people who would love to do what I'm doing. I'd say that's the main thing and obviously the people as well. Over the years, we're developing more and more. It's like a family.
 
14. What is your favourite memory representing England?
 
The Netherlands game – our first game at the EUROs last year. We were actually 1-0 down at half time, so we went inside a changing room but I didn’t feel like we were going to lose. I just felt like, ‘OK, I need to step up my game – I know I can do this’. Once you know in the back of your mind and you have that self-belief, you can be anything. The minute we came out, it was 2-1 in 15 minutes. And scoring that winning goal was the best feeling. Just knowing ‘we're really in this tournament now’, that was a big memory because I only joined the England setup from under-19s, so quite late, so doing that and then also starting every single game at the EUROs was so sick.
 
15. What is your first memory representing England?
 
We went to Algarve and I didn't even know how to feel because I was on loan at Charlton. It’s not something I was actively thinking about. It was something that I thought about time ago because I remember at under-21s, I was playing against Chelsea and Arsenal and they were all in that setup and I thought, ‘hmm, imagine’. I was actively manifesting it in the back of my brain but not tying my identity to it. When it came, it was like, ‘OK, this is my moment now’. Then showing up on that camp, I was full of confidence because I was like, ‘let me show you who I am’. 

16. How would you describe how you’re feeling heading into the tournament?
 
I'm just ready to fight. Going off the back of the EUROs, I want to prove to other people that we’re just not another nation – we're a nation that can really dominate. I think over the past prep camps, we’ve been getter better every single game.
 
17. How did you receive news of the call-up?
 
I got back from training and I was just in my room, so I picked up phone. Lydia actually pranked me on the phone. She said, ‘I’m not going to lie, I have some bad news. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to spend the next 30 days with me’. It was crazy, bro!
 
18. How would you describe getting the opportunity to pull on an England shirt?
 
Just an honour. The amount of young girls that are probably looking at us and thinking, ‘I want to do that someday’, I just want to show them that it's possible because I didn't come up in the best academy. I just was playing in the cages with my brother but this stuff is possible as long as you believe in yourself and you put your mind to it.
 
19. What would your younger self have said to you right now?
 
There's no such thing as failure. You either learn from a situation or you succeed. I think everything in life is leading you to a moment where you can hold the life that you want because imagine if you wanted all this stuff but you didn't have the confidence to hold it when you get in that position. Any situation that happens, it's a redirection for something great. So yes, if you feel uncomfortable doing this, you have to be uncomfortable and then there you go, you literally step on the ladder.
 
20. Other than the tournament, what are you looking forward to when visiting Poland?
 
I’m looking forward to searching for a barber out there. If we make the final, I need a fresh trim!