FRAN A LION-EL HEART!
Ace Kirby our mini Messi
FRAN KIRBY says the joy she felt after scoring England’s World Cup opener against Mexico proves she was right to return to football.
Kirby, 21, quit playing four years ago when suffering from delayed depression following the sudden death of her mother three years earlier.
But after scoring in her first start at a major tournament in the 2-1 win over Mexico on Saturday – which prompted boss Mark Sampson to dub her the ‘mini Messi’ – Kirby said she is using the dark times as motivation.
Kirby said: “When I look back, it was a difficult time for me and my family.
‘‘But we’ve pulled through all together and it just motivates me now more than anything.
“That’s probably one of the reasons why I felt so happy when I scored, just knowing the journey that I have been on and I know now it was the right decision (to return to football).” Thrilled at the Lionel Messi tribute by her boss, the Reading striker added: “It’s pretty incredible to be labelled after such a great footballer.
“It’s really great for me to hear that he has got that much faith in me as a player and to put his trust in me.
“To give me my first start is incredible, as it was to get the goal and be able to repay Mark and the girls for how well they’ve treated me coming into the group.
“This time last year I probably wasn’t even in and around it, so it’s a credit to all the girls and how we played.”
Karen Carney came off the bench to tee-up Kirby then score the second for the Lionesses before Mexico’s Fabiola Ibarra replied late on.
England now head to Montreal for Wednesday’s final Group F clash against group leaders Colombia, with the top two qualifying automatically.
Birmingham winger Carney said: “The team dug deep when we needed to and got the result. Now we are really excited to play Colombia.”