Hampton 'a bit' ahead of Earps in England keeper battle

Hannah Hampton appears to be in pole position to take the number one spot for England at the 2025 Women's Euros, with head coach Sarina Wiegman saying she is "a little bit ahead" of counterpart Mary Earps.

Earps has been a mainstay of England's success in recent years, helping the Lionesses win Euro 2022 and reach the final of the 2023 Women's World Cup.

However, she has faced increasing competition from Hampton since the beginning of 2024 and the Chelsea keeper has been preferred for each of England's past three Women's Nations League matches.

Up until now, Wiegman had been reluctant to confirm who would be her first choice, but that changed in the build-up to kick-off of England's defeat in Belgium.

Speaking to ITV, she said: "I have two world-class goalkeepers. At the moment, [Hannah] is a little bit ahead."

You only have to look at Earps' individual accolades to appreciate her quality as a goalkeeper. A two-time Fifa women's goalkeeper of the year, the golden glove winner at the 2023 World Cup, BBC Sports Personality of the Year - the list is endless.

She had to fight hard for the gloves on the international stage, making her debut against Switzerland in June 2017 but only earning a further seven caps over the next three years in the face of competition from Karen Bardsley, Carly Telford and fellow youngster Ellie Roebuck.

Wiegman's arrival in 2021 proved a turning point, with Earps starting each of her first seven games in charge and going on to be ever present during Euro 2022, the 2023 World Cup - including a memorable penalty save to deny Jenni Hermoso in the final, and the 2023 Women's Nations League.

However, since the beginning of 2024, Wiegman has favoured rotating her goalkeepers, selecting Hampton in six of England's past 10 matches.

The pair traded places in friendlies against Austria, Italy, Germany and South Africa last year. Earps won the gloves for November's much-anticipated meeting with the USA, keeping a clean sheet in the process, but was replaced by Hampton against Switzerland three days later.

Crucially, the Chelsea keeper, who has six clean sheets in 13 caps, has been selected in three of England's four Women's Nations League matches, including the win over world champions Spain.

Earps is, by far, the more experienced goalkeeper, earning 53 caps for England and keeping 26 clean sheets. And she's been in good form since swapping Manchester United for Paris St-Germain last summer, conceding just 12 goals in 17 league outings.

However, Hampton is also enjoying an impressive campaign. Establishing herself as Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper this season, she has conceded 13 goals in 18 WSL matches - a record bettered by only Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce - and featured in their past three Women's Champions League outings.

And with Hampton, who previously played for Birmingham City and Aston Villa, eight years younger than 32-year-old Earps, is this a sign that Wiegman and England are looking to the future?

Former England striker Ian Wright backed Wiegman's decision to favour Hampton.

"[She will improve] the more experience she can get in games and work on her concentration because in respect of everything else, her distribution, I think she's a better goalkeeper," he said on ITV.

However, he also praised Earps' character, adding: "Mary's got main character energy. If she gets a sniff back in that goal, it's going to be tough for Hannah, it'll be tough to get her out. Imagine having Mary Earps as your back-up [at the Euros]."

Former England midfielder Karen Carney says Wiegman's backing for Hampton could help both keepers in making the situation clearer.

Also speaking on ITV, she said: "You often hear goalkeepers say there has to be a clear number one and maybe Sarina Wiegman's helping Hannah prepare for that.

"And also showing Mary Earps that Hannah's in ahead of you, and this is going to happen at the tournament, and preparing her for that."