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FIVE years ago the Lionesses played at the new Wembley for the first time. We lost 3-0, I played centre-half and was given the runaround by the awesome Germany forwards. Playing at Wembley – in front of what was a record England women’s crowd of 45,619 – was a novelty then and we were in awe of Germany. We were like rabbits caught in the headlights – and, as I mentioned, I played at centre-half!
This time, things feel different. For Saturday’s rematch, Wembley has sold out, which means a crowd of more than 80,000, and as a team I think we are developing among the quickest of any in the world.
Unlike in 2014, we look at Germany as being around our level now. We won’t be scared of them as we were then. At that time, after losing 3-0, we thought we might not get another chance to play at the national stadium.
But we want to be back at Wembley for the final of Euro 2021, so we don’t want this week’s headlines to be just about how the game has sold out – we want them to be about the football, and hopefully how well we’ve played.
Also, the tickets went a few weeks ago, which has given us plenty of time for the situation to sink in. Nobody should be caught in the headlights this time. It is still a huge honour to play at Wembley but many of our team have played in big matches and big stadiums in their careers now.
We know it will be a special occasion but for us it is about winning the game and playing good football. This match will be shown all over the world. In France, where I’m based, it is going to be shown on mainstream TV, which demonstrates how seriously they take it.
That match five years ago was the last time I played in central defence. Alex Scott was at right-back and Demi Stokes at left-back, so I played centreback next to Steph Houghton.
I never really felt I’d ‘arrived’ as an England player, certainly until after the 2015 World Cup, and I never felt comfortable in an England shirt until then. Even at that stage, our manager at the time Mark Sampson kept me on my toes.
Under Phil Neville, it is the only time I have been confident playing for my country. Phil’s said very publicly how much he rates me but I’ve never felt like I have been a coach’s favourite with
England, or at my previous clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City. Even in my third season at Lyon I don’t feel like an established player.
As a youngster, I was told I was too small and wouldn’t make it as a footballer, so I look back at some of the comments made to me by my agegroup coaches and hope I’ve proved them wrong.
Despite the result and getting the