football’s coming home
Ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on 20 July, England goalkeeper Mary Earps speaks to Stylist about managing stress on a global and personal level
words: helen bownass
Imagine this: you’ve landed in Australia, and you’re standing in a 24ft-wide goal mouth. Hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyes are bearing down on you, while another 2 billion around the world are doing the same at home. There’s a ball coming towards you at 50 miles an hour. If you let that 28-inch piece of leather and rubber slip past you, it’s game over – literally. I – along with most people, probably – would scream, cry and throw up. Then I’d hope I woke up to discover it was just a terrible dream. But, incredibly, there are a few people who don’t choke and actually thrive under that pressure. England women’s goalkeeper Mary Earps will be that person at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup – the team’s first game will be against Haiti at 10.30am on 22 July. “It’s a hard position, but the tough things are usually
