Lionesses star Georgia Stanway has expressed confidence in the England goalkeeper situation despite Mary Earps picking up a hip injury on Friday.
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Lionesses defeated by France on FridayEarps limped off early with hip problemBut Stanway confident in England's optionsWHAT HAPPENED?
Earps pulled up in pain less than a minute into England's defeat to France in Newcastle after completing a simple passing motion. The Manchester United goalkeeper tried to continue but was withdrawn after only eight minutes after struggling to do so.
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However, the Lionesses have some great goalkeepers at their disposal and Hannah Hampton, Earps' replacement, showed that with a truly excellent save to deny Maelle Lakrar before the first half was done. It was little surprise to hear head coach Sarina Wiegman say after the game that she is confident in Hampton's ability to perform if Earps is unable to play in the return game in France on Tuesday and Stanway agreed.
WHAT STANWAY SAID
“They're both great goalkeepers. You can play either one of them and you know exactly what you're gonna get and I think that's what's special. Either one, you feel safe with them behind you and for an outfield player that's exactly what you want," the midfielder told reporters.
"You can see the way that Hannah distributes the ball is world-class. The passes that she was making into full-back areas were unbelievable. To come on at [eight] minutes, it's completely different circumstances and within the first five she pulls off a save like that so that shows the type of goalkeeper she is. I know she's had her head down and she's been working really hard at Chelsea and she's got her place at Chelsea, she's been playing games. She deserved it tonight. Obviously, we hope that Mary is okay and she recovers well but like I said, you could play either one of them you know exactly what you're going to get because they’re both world-class.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Wiegman had not had the chance to speak to Earps or the medical team when she came to her press conference on Friday, so was unable to offer a detailed update of the goalkeeper's situation. She did, however, admit that it was a concern given Earps so rarely has to leave the field.
