Hannah Hampton or Mary Earps: Who will be England’s No 1 at Euro 2025?

On Friday against Germany, Hampton produced three remarkable saves, including a fingertip denial of Linda Dallmann’s intrepid 35-yard lob. These kind of moments are becoming more commonplace for Hampton.

Yet more routine saves and moments of erraticism are still proving problem areas.

Hampton should have done better for Germany’s third, when Klara Buhl’s effort wriggled underneath her at the near post. Hampton’s spilled catch for the cross which led to Germany’s penalty in the 71st minute to put the visitors 4-2 up also drew grimaces. The sight was not dissimilar from her performance against Sweden in July, when she fumbled the ball twice in four minutes late on but avoided any punishment.

Hampton drew headlines before the international break with a bizarre gaffe that saw the Chelsea player fumble Amanda Nilden’s deep strike, gifting Tottenham Hotspur an equaliser in a game the WSL champions eventually won 5-2.

At such a young age, these kind of errors are arguably to be expected — a symptom of an exciting, but ultimately fallible, rawness. But for a national team, such moments can be costly, especially when up against teams with the quality to punish them.

Hampton tips a shot over the bar against Germany (Vincent Mignott/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Earps came up with a big save of her own on Tuesday in the second half to keep England’s 2-1 lead in tact, as well as a crucial intervention in the 88th minute when she came out to claim Lebohang Ramalepe’s dangerous cross and snuff out the danger.

While her saves were more commonplace, Earps showed the value in her experience and calm, twice bailing out Esme Morgan towards the end of the first half after the City centre-back under hit her back pass and forced Earps to think quickly on her toes.

There was little Earps could do for South Africa’s goal. Williamson’s woefully placed pass to Stanway on the halfway line allowed Kgatlana to nip in and scythe through the England half, bearing down on Earps. The 28-year-old’s shot was excellent, driven low and kissing the inside of the post.

Distribution

Hampton’s distribution is a huge asset, particularly as England look to beat an opposition press.

Against Germany, she released Lauren Hemp and Lucy Bronze out wide with diagonal balls, but was also able to allow Walsh to turn with a simple central ball from the back. Such versatility to switch up long and short balls is critical as England work to become more unpredictable.

However, there was a moment when centre-back Alex Greenwood, on as a second-half substitute, remonstrated with Hampton for playing a short ball to the left rather than identifying the space on the right.

The caveat here is that it is difficult to detangle a coach’s instructions from a player’s instincts.

Looking at Hampton’s distribution for Chelsea last season (the sample size is too small for this season), her passes were notably skewed to the left, whereas Earps spread her passes more evenly across either side of the pitch but delivered fewer long balls.

Against South Africa, this was also largely the case as England dominated possession and could easily build out from the back. Earps’ distribution was limited to simple passes to her centre-backs, Williamson and Morgan.

Yet, a few attempts at longer passes, including one to left-back Greenwood in the first half, looked awkward and clunky.

Another big plus for Earps is her constant communication and defensive organisation.

While England controlled proceedings on Tuesday night, Earps could still be heard directing her back line and team-mates to get their positioning right, often coming out of her goal to confront her team-mates herself and point to areas of the pitch where she wanted them to be.

While England continued to look vulnerable at the back, particularly from Kgatlana who wreaked havoc with her pace in behind, it was this kind of communication that could have been valuable on Friday night against Germany as the game spiralled out of England’s control in the opening half hour.

Fittingly after an international camp punctuated by discourse surrounding the faith entrusted in players in form at their clubs and those not, the goalkeeper position functions as its own kind of microcosm.

There is an irony in Earps joining PSG to sate her hunger for silverware — only to be eliminated from the Champions League in the qualifying stages and find herself on the bench for the team’s first home game of the league season (the first of three times she has not started a league game so far). PSG conceded five goals across the two legs against Juventus as they crashed out of Europe.

Earps in action for PSG (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Earps has made clear that adjusting to life at a new club in a new country requires time, sharing on social media challenges as light-hearted as being confused by purple cauliflower and no driving lanes near the Arc de Triomphe, to more serious concerns such as sorting new accommodation and not speaking the native language.

A video posted to social media, accompanied with the caption “My head is frazzled”, spoke to this mental tension. For an occupation known for being as cerebral as it is physically instinctive, such descriptions are concerning.

Earps’ fortunes have improved in recent weeks. She kept her first clean sheet for her new club in a 1-0 win over Nantes, then produced a spectacular save in the 2-1 victory against Fleury. If Earps required a slow start to catch fire, very few will begrudge her that.

But maintaining that momentum is crucial if she is to challenge Hampton for the No 1 ahead of next summer’s Euros.

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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Publish date : 2024-10-30 00:54:00

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