After MBE ceremony
Mary Earps has said this weekend’s Women’s FA Cup final will be the highlight of her season.
The Manchester United and England goalkeeper was made an MBE for services to football during an investiture ceremony conducted by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
United have struggled in the Women’s Super League this season but could lift the first major piece of silverware in the club’s history in Sunday’s final against Tottenham at Wembley.
And the 31-year-old said: “I’m very prepared for it, very up for it and really looking forward to it. It’s only a few days away so bring it on.
“It’ll be the highlight of the season, for sure, by a million miles.”
Earps was a key part of the England side which reached the Women’s 2023 World Cup final, winning the Golden Glove award for the best goalkeeper at the tournament, and was also part of the team that won the Euros in 2022.
Earps and her Lionesses team-mates will have a summer off from international tournaments this year but she has one eye on retaining the
Women’s Euros title in 2025. “I think you can see from the World Cup and even the Euros when we won it in 2022, the competition gets tougher every single year,” she said.
“But I think we’ve got a fantastic team and I have every belief in the quality of the girls individually and collectively even more.
“So, I think if we prepare right and go through what we need to do in terms of our preparation to make sure we’re performing at the highest level possible, I have every confidence that we will be there again – we’ve got to earn it though.”