GEORGIA STANWAY "I'VE TATTOOED A LOT OF MY TEAM-MATES - IT'S EXTRA PRESSURE TO MAKE IT PERFECT!"

Since stunning Spain in 2022, the midfielder has moved to Bayern Munich and taken up a hobby - recently, though, she’s been battling to be fit for the finals

- Interview Sarah Rendell

Would you say your long-range strike against Spain, which sent England to the Euro 2022 semi-finals, has been your career highlight to date?

That tournament was a bit of a rocket for me. I was able to establish myself in a position in midfield, and once I'd done that, I joined Bayern Munich and could also make that my position there. I got a lot of confidence. The goal against Spain was really important, but not only that, just to be a part of a team that was successful and play a lot of minutes was all super important to kick on and try to find my next level.

What did it mean for Sarina Wiegman to trust you in midfield?

It’s so important to get the trust from the manager, and she’s a great coach. It took me a little while to build up my minutes under Sarina - in her first six matches, I didn’t really play. I was going through different roles at Manchester City, I wasn’t able to play midfield for them and that didn’t allow me to play midfield for England. Once I got a little bit more consistency in my positioning, Iwas able to knuckle down.

You were only 23 at Euro 2022. How many times have you watched that Spain goal since?

To be honest, I've not seen it for a long time, but the night I scored it, I must have watched it 100 times! I was quite lucky that the goalkeeper took a step to the left and my shot went to the right. I remember moments from the game - I remember random little things from that tournament. I picked up cramp late in extra time against Spain and Keira Walsh got it at the same time, so only one of us could be taken off. We had a little discussion, she needed to go off more than me, so I said, ‘All right, you get off’. Jill Scott then came on and she was running for more than one of us!

What was the feeling like to score an important goal like that in a packed stadium, at the Amex in Brighton?