The shot-stopper has had to conquer several obstacles on her way to becoming No.1 for England and Chelsea by the age of 24
Home
Home Kit
Inspired by retro sportswear and Lioness kits of the pastFeatures classic English colours in a modern and energetic execution Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyAway
Away Kit
Celebrates the squad's impact on future generations of female athletesFeatures bursts of bright colours accenting a fearless blackAvailable in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyGoalkeeper
Goalkeeper Kit
Comes in the traditional green colourwayLogos centralised for a retro look Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyHome
Home Kit
Inspired by retro sportswear and Lioness kits of the pastFeatures classic English colours in a modern and energetic execution Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyAway
Away Kit
Celebrates the squad's impact on future generations of female athletesFeatures bursts of bright colours accenting a fearless blackAvailable in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyGoalkeeper
Goalkeeper Kit
Comes in the traditional green colourwayLogos centralised for a retro look Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyHome
Home Kit
Inspired by retro sportswear and Lioness kits of the pastFeatures classic English colours in a modern and energetic execution Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyAway
Away Kit
Celebrates the squad's impact on future generations of female athletesFeatures bursts of bright colours accenting a fearless blackAvailable in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
BuyGoalkeeper
Goalkeeper Kit
Comes in the traditional green colourwayLogos centralised for a retro look Available in S, M, L, XL and 2XL
From
£84.99
Buy
Few would disagree that the 2025 European Championship belonged to Chloe Kelly. The winger consistently grabbed the headlines as the Lionesses repeatedly dragged themselves from the brink of defeat to a second-successive continental title, with huge match-winning contributions coming in each of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, which her spot-kick ultimately won.
But England weren't without their fair share of heroes in Switzerland. Michelle Agyemang emerged as a sensation, scoring two huge equalisers to seal the Young Player of the Tournament award; Lucy Bronze put in a truly memorable performance against Sweden and impressed throughout the month despite playing with a fractured tibia; and then there was Hannah Hampton, who showed just why Sarina Wiegman picked her to be the Lionesses' new No.1.
In the quarter-finals, she made two huge saves in the penalty shootout to keep England in it, with the one to prevent Sofia Jakobsson from sending Sweden into the semi-finals particularly impressive. In the last four, Kelly's heroics meant the Lionesses just about avoided the need for another shootout, but Hampton still came up big with a vital double-save just before Agyemang's incredibly late equaliser. Then, in the final, it was back to the pressure of penalties, with the shot-stopper denying Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati as England reclaimed their Euros title.
It was a tournament that catapulted Hampton into becoming national hero, with Wiegman's decision to choose her as the Lionesses' first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Mary Earps – who had performed incredibly at Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women's World Cup – certainly justified. But while Hampton has been well-known as prodigious talent since her breakthrough at Birmingham as a 16-year-old, she has had to overcome a whole host of obstacles in order to become the world-class player she is today, with doctors even advising her that she should not play football…
Getty ImagesEarly promise
Hampton's promise as a footballer was evident from an early age. That was not necessarily as a goalkeeper, either. After moving to Spain as a five-year-old, the Birmingham native was scouted for Villarreal's academy and actually played as a striker, with her not changing positions until she was back in England a few years later and part of the Stoke City set-up.
That footballing education at a club like Villarreal, though, would help Hampton develop one of her key strengths as a modern-day goalkeeper, which comes in her technical ability and distribution. Combined with strong reflexes and good reading of the game, plus a move to a Birmingham side which had a coach – in current Manchester United boss Marc Skinner – who trusted and developed young talent, it led to Hampton being granted her senior debut at just 16 years old.
By the time she was 18, Hampton was Birmingham's first-choice goalkeeper; aged 19, she was part of the England senior squad for the first time, as a training player; a year later, after a move to an ambitious Aston Villa side, she earned her first full Lionesses call-up; and, aged 21, she made her senior international debut.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesOvercoming obstacles
While her story might look rather straightforward in that sense, it has been anything but. That’s because Hampton was born with a serious eye condition that prompted doctors to tell her that she should not play football. She had three operations by the age of three to try and correct the misalignment caused by strabismus, but it was not a complete success. Then, aged 12, she was diagnosed with impaired depth perception. "I can't judge distances," she explained previously. "So being a goalkeeper doesn't really make a lot of sense!"
Opening up on the difficulties in an interview with the , Hampton said: "At the beginning I didn’t know I had it and a lot of the time the ball would smack me in the face. I’ve had to adjust my set position to have my hands out to take the ball. Trying to catch a ball is quite hard! I’ve had many, many nosebleeds. A lot of broken fingers. I’d try and catch it and it’d hit the top. They’ve all broken over the years. And that’s when I started adjusting it because I was fed up."
It's remarkable that Hampton has overcome such challenges to not just be a goalkeeper but become a goalkeeper, then. "I’ve probably gone against some of the odds," she conceded, humbly.
Getty Images'I wanted to quit football'
There would be more obstacles in her way, too, as she attempted to climb from being an established goalkeeper in the WSL to one of the very best in the sport, who now represents one of the biggest clubs in the world, in Chelsea, and starts for England, the back-to-back European champions.
One would come shortly after she was part of the Lionesses' squad which won the Euros in 2022. Hampton missed England's next two camps, with Wiegman telling reporters: "She has some personal issues that she has to solve so for her at this moment, it’s better for her to stay at her club." A few weeks later, published a story in which it claimed sources had indicated that Hampton had been dropped 'because of her behaviour and attitude at the team’s camps'. This was contradicted by the player herself, who posted a photo a few days later from a hospital bed, saying she had “been suffering with a medical problem for a while” and needed “a small procedure” to address it.
Events at Aston Villa intensified the confusion. In the same period, then-head coach Carla Ward said Hampton was “available” to play a game against Chelsea, but was left out of the squad due to "something that happened" which prompted her to believe "it was in the best interests of the team and the squad for [Hampton] to stay at home". A few days later, Ward said Hampton had a "recurring muscle injury" that required a small medical procedure. It all put the young goalkeeper in the media spotlight for the first time, and not how she'd have liked.
"I don't think I'd really prepared for the negative side of the media," Hampton told earlier this year. "I did want to quit football. I wanted to pack it in. I didn't like it. I didn't know who to turn to because I thought everyone was against me. For me to achieve what I want to achieve and all the goals I've set myself, you have to face the adversity. You've got to push yourself through not nice situations. I always want to prove people wrong. From the get-go, I've done that and this was just another hurdle for me."
Getty ImagesComing out on top
Hampton showed her ability to bounce back with what followed. She returned in goal for Villa a few weeks later, was back in the England picture in April of the following year and then part of the Lionesses squad which reached the Women's World Cup final, earning a huge move to Chelsea that same summer. It was after that tournament, though, that her trajectory on the international scene started to really accelerate.
To that point, Earps was England's undisputed No.1. She performed exceptionally at the Euros and the World Cup to win back-to-back FIFA Best awards and a whole host of other accolades, with her ranking higher in the Ballon d'Or Feminin voting than any goalkeeper before or since.
But Hampton was impressing for all-conquering Chelsea and knocking on the door more and more when it came to challenging her international team-mate for the No.1 shirt. She played a competitive fixture over Earps in April 2024, something that hadn't happened since Ellie Roebuck did so 18 months earlier, and took full advantage of the opportunities that came her way after the England No.1 picked up an injury in the summer.
As the year neared its end, it was clear that Hampton was starting to emerge as the front-runner to be the Lionesses' first-choice goalkeeper for Euro 2025 and in the New Year, she was – in Wiegman's words – "a little bit ahead".
When Earps announced her shock retirement a week before the England squad was to be named for the tournament, it came to light that Wiegman had told her that Hampton was to be No.1 and that played a significant role in the surprising news. It was quite a turnaround for the 24-year-old, less than three years on from her international future being thrown into serious doubt in the media.
