1 week Ago By The Telegraph
Hannah Hampton had a night to forget in goal for England - Getty Images/Nicolas TucatAfter months of questions and deliberations, the debate is over: Hannah Hampton is England’s first-choice goalkeeper.It will be fascinating to know what Mary Earps thinks about her demotion, after so long in the spotlight but especially following England’s shock defeat by Belgium.The former Manchester United goalkeeper had been No 1 since Sarina Wiegman’s appointment in September 2021, but her grip had been loosening for a while.
Wiegman has rotated between the two for almost a year and you could argue there was no need to declare who is first choice given the competition might have been good for them. Wiegman, though, will do things her way and, given her record, she has earned trust in her judgment.After months of avoiding a definitive answer on the goalkeeper conundrum, Wiegman’s message before the game was clear: Hampton is No 1 and Earps will have to be satisfied with a back-up role heading into the European Championship.
“She is a little bit ahead at this moment in time,” Wiegman said of Hampton. “She has been great on and off the pitch. We are very fortunate we have two world-class goalkeepers.
..”England do, but clearly Wiegman feels Hampton is the better of the two.
Whether she has changed her mind after Hampton’s performance against Belgium will be interesting. But she is not prone to changing her mind, especially on such a crucial call, so close to a tournament.Sarina Wiegman stated before the Belgium game game that Hampton was England’s No 1 - Getty Images/Lars BaronHaving been told the good news, Hampton would have liked a more reassuring night than the one in Leuven.
Belgium had four attempts on target inside the first half an hour and scored from three of them – that is never going to reflect well on a goalkeeper.In truth, far more blame should be attributed to the defence, as Belgium played through them with ease, but this was not what Hampton needed so soon after being told she had moved ahead of Earps in the pecking order.There was little the Chelsea goalkeeper could do to prevent their hosts taking the lead in the second minute.
But she could have perhaps done better with the looping header that gave Belgium their second 15 minutes later.If Hampton has a weakness, she is not as commanding in her box as Earps and was arguably caught in no man’s land, a few steps off her line but in no position to claim the cross.WHAT A START FOR BELGIUM! 🇧🇪🇧🇪Justine Vanhaevermaet doubles their lead with a looping header 💥#ITVFootball | #UWNLpic.
twitter.com/F0ox45vmhb— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 8, 2025Even for Belgium’s third goal, Hampton made a step forward as though she was going to try to cut out the cross, only to stop. Millie Bright also hesitated – suggesting afterwards she had been put off by the keeper – and failed to clear.
The centre-back should have taken control of the situation.THE COMMENTATOR'S CURSE IS ALIVE AND WELL! 🎙️It's Tessa Wullaert at the double ⚽️⚽️Belgium are on fire 🔥#ITVFootball | #UWNLpic.twitter.
com/LEs4GgnYeo— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 8, 2025Hampton did make a good save to prevent it becoming four before half-time and Wiegman’s mind appears to be made up.In truth, the signs have been pointing in this direction for a while. It was last July, for the European qualifiers against Ireland and Sweden – games England could not afford to lose – that Earps was left out of the side for the first time when fit under Wiegman.
Hampton did well and has not really put a foot wrong since.Nevertheless, it is a big call at a pivotal moment in the Lionesses’ preparations as they look to defend their European crown. Earps must show she can now be a good team-mate as well as a rival.
Wiegman has gone with the younger player, the one with less experience, but someone who is first choice for Chelsea, the team dominating the domestic club scene.Hampton is a good shot-stopper, but there is little to choose between her and Earps in this respect. Where she is clearly superior is with the ball at her feet, which is important to the style of football England want to play.
It is also worth noting that, at the age of 24, Hampton is front and centre in the Women’s Super League while Earps’s move to Paris St-Germain has backfired. She did not play in the Champions League group stage after PSG were knocked out in the preliminary rounds and initially struggled to adapt in France. Is it also a case of out of sight, out of mind?Earps said in an interview with The Guardian last week that it “had been nice to escape the noise” in Paris.
“I’m really pleased I took the bold move,” she added. “Of course, the start, and getting knocked out of the Champions League – it feels like a million years ago to be honest – was difficult to take. But I look at it almost a year on and I’m so pleased I was brave enough to move.
I feel like a better player.”Wiegman seems to disagree. Hampton may not have enjoyed her night against Belgium but she will enjoy an extended run in the starting team.
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