Lauren Hemp feels “fearless” after firing England to their first ever World Cup final.
The Lionesses beat Australia 3-1 on Wednesday to book a place in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final against Spain and Hemp was the star of the show.
The forward scored one and setup another, earning the Player of the Match award for her performance.
Hemp has revelled in a new role for England during the tournament, playing alongside Alessia Russo as a striker instead of operating out wide.
“I feel like I came into this competition with so much belief, and I just want to be fearless, I just want to show what I can show on the world’s biggest stage,” she said.
“As a group, everyone has brought the best out of me. Everyone is pushing me to try and be better and I feel like the group has brought the best out of me.
“I’ve sort of taken up a new role, I guess, in the team, running in behind players and getting the ball, creating something, and I feel really fearless at the moment.
“I feel like I’m playing some of my best football. Obviously, there’s so much more still to show. But as a group we’re going in the right direction and personally I’m pleased with my performance but I’m so proud of the team.
“I feel like there are no words to describe what we all feel right now. It’s an unbelievable achievement, getting to a World Cup final. It’s every kid’s dream.
“I mean, I’ve got no words, I’m absolutely knackered right now. We’ve got a few days to recover but then we go again. We want to win this, now we’ve come so far now, so why not?”
This was England’s third World Cup semi-final in a row and, after losing their last two, they are in a final.
Hemp praised the squad’s mentality for the way they overcome co-hosts Australia, who were backed by huge home support.
“I feel like, as a team we have got such an inner-belief, and also so much confidence as the group,” she said.
“No matter what happens on the outside, no matter who we come up against, every challenge we’ve managed to solve.
“Every game, we’ve managed to compete and we’ve managed to come out on top. I feel like this team is so special.
“You saw last year how successful we were. We want to do the same again and we want to go one step further. We have all got a dream.
“We’re pushing each other to be the best that we can and we know that whenever a player gets beaten by their opponent, we know there will be someone there, having each others’ backs, no matter what.”
