How Mary Earps confirmed her status as world's best goalkeeper

Mary Earps has picked up the Golden Glove successful the past 2 large tournaments with England

It was not the ending she deserved but Mary Earps rightly celebrated her Golden Glove award, holding it aloft and taking applause, aft England's Women's World Cup last decision by Spain.

The 30-year-old has had a singular planetary career, going from being an outcast and connected the brink of retirement, to emerging arsenic 1 of the astir globally recognised goalkeepers successful women's football.

While England fell abbreviated astatine the last hurdle, Earps' performances passim the tourney confirmed her presumption arsenic the world's champion goalkeeper.

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'She's the champion for a reason'

She made cardinal saves successful astir each game, keeping 3 cleanable sheets en way to the last and picking up the Player of the Match grant aft starring successful England's punishment shootout triumph implicit Nigeria.

Against Haiti, she pushed distant Roseline Eloissaint's onslaught earlier tipping Lorena Durango Bedoya's effort implicit the barroom successful the 2-1 triumph implicit Colombia. She blocked an effort from Cortnee Vine precocious connected successful the 3-1 triumph implicit Australia successful the semi-finals and past made 4 saves against Spain successful the 1-0 loss.

"That's wherefore she's fig one, that's what she does for the team," Manchester United team-mate Ella Toone said aft the triumph implicit Haiti.

"She makes immoderate unbelievable saves. She kept america successful the crippled truthful that's wherefore she's fig 1 and wherefore she's our goalkeeper."

England midfielder Georgia Stanway added: "She's the champion for a crushed and moments similar that explicate why."

Earps kept her champion show for last, making respective important saves arsenic England desperately tried to find a mode backmost into the World Cup final, but to nary avail.

She had her infinitesimal of glory - diving debased to prevention Hermoso's spot-kick, roaring successful solemnisation and sticking her lingua retired arsenic skipper Millie Bright sprinted to prime her up and convey her for giving England a lifeline.

But it was not the catalyst for an England comeback arsenic truthful often her saves are.

Life earlier and aft Wiegman

Earps' past World Cup was a precise antithetic story. She acted arsenic third-choice goalkeeper successful 2019 earlier being dropped by erstwhile manager Phil Neville.

Two years passed successful which Earps did not correspond England. She contemplated status earlier Sarina Wiegman's accomplishment successful September 2021 brought her unwavering confidence.

"The world is my beingness earlier Sarina Wiegman and my beingness aft Sarina Wiegman is wholly different," Earps told BBC Sport successful January.

In the abstraction of 12 months, Earps had go the undisputed England fig one, started each lucifer astatine Euro 2022 and picked up the Golden Glove arsenic the Lionesses won their archetypal large trophy.

The Fifa Best Goalkeeper grant followed and Earps has done each she tin to clasp the crown again this twelvemonth aft her awesome performances connected the biggest signifier of them all.

Earps combat for goalkeeping visibility

Such has been Earps' emergence with the Lionesses, she has go a fashionable fig among supporters and a salient relation exemplary for young boys and girls.

But Earps revealed successful July she was "hurt" that fans could not bargain a replica of her goalkeeper shirt.

Her comments received wide enactment and the Football Association's Mark Bullingham aboriginal said it was an contented that would beryllium "addressed rather soon aft the tournament".

"Mary spoke passionately astir it and we privation to turn goalkeeping - it's gathering relation models," helium added.

Earps' show successful England's last decision has lone accrued calls for her shirts to beryllium enactment connected merchantability with ex-Lionesses striker Ellen White saying she hopes 1 time her babe girl would person one.