How striker-turned-keeper Hampton’s ‘unreal’ passes boost England

“I do miss scoring goals, I can’t lie,” Hannah Hampton said two days before England claimed a commanding 4-0 victory over the Netherlands at Euro 2025.

The goalkeeper might not have made it on to the scoresheet at Stadion Letzigrund on Wednesday night, but her sublime defence-splitting pass kickstarted the attack for the Lionesses’ first goal and set the tempo for a statement performance.

Having played as a striker in her youth football days, the 24-year-old’s impressive passing ability, sharp vision and attacking mind-set come as no surprise.

Hampton’s drilled pass to Alessia Russo sliced through the entire Netherlands team, allowing the England striker to drive upfield before slipping the ball to Lauren James for a fantastic left-foot finish.

“The bravery to play that pass in a game like this, for me, says everything you need to know about her mindset,” said former England keeper Karen Bardsley.

Initially a striker, Hampton was part of the Villarreal academy and only made the switch to being a goalkeeper aged 12 at Stoke City after her family had returned to England.

Fast forward to 2025, and she is England’s number one at the European Championship.

However, her position as the Lionesses’ first-choice shot-stopper was not entirely definitive until six weeks ago, with Mary Earps still challenging for the jersey right up until her shock retirement from international duty.

The absence of Earps – the Golden Glove winner at the 2023 World Cup – left questions over Hampton’s ability to cope with the pressure of a major tournament.

The Chelsea keeper’s performance against the Netherlands has now put some of those doubts to rest.

While she had very few saves to make, she impressed with the ball at her feet – helping England get their title defence back on track after their 2-1 defeat by France in their opening game.

“The first task is to prevent goals but if you have a goalkeeper who plays well [with her feet], that’s an added value,” said England boss Sarina Wiegman after the win over her home country.

Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis said she hoped Hampton’s “sublime” performance “builds her confidence”.

“Her distribution was fantastic, she pretty much set up the first goal with that long through-ball,” Brown-Finnis added.

“To produce something like that in your first major tournament as a starter was sensational.”

Only right-back Lucy Bronze, with 12, made more line-breaking passes than Hampton’s six for England against the highly ranked Dutch team.

“That pass for Lauren James’ opening goal was unreal,” ex-Lionesses keeper Siobhan Chamberlain told BBC Radio 5 Live.

As well as her defence-splitting pass for James’ opener, Hampton initiated the build-up for England’s third goal, pinging a long-range ball over the Netherlands’ defence for Russo to run on to before James – after a scramble in the box – fired in.

Having played a key role as Chelsea won a domestic treble last season, her Blues and England team-mate Bronze said it’s well known “how talented Hannah is”.

“Obviously I play with her every single day, so I know that she’s got that ability,” Bronze added.

“She’s still a very young player as well, so she’s still kind of learning the trade. But we can see it in training, the passes she makes.