Eight years ago I was playing in the World Cup third-place playoff when we won a penalty in extra time and a Germany player was trying to unsettle the taker, Fara Williams. I felt it necessary to get in the way to protect my teammate by pushing my opponent – only to realise it was Alexandra Popp and that I might have made an error of judgment. The next minute, Eni Aluko had to join me to give us a chance of keeping Popp at arm’s length because it was the type of situation that needed two people to stop such an ultra-competitive person.
Thankfully for us, Fara scored and we took third but it was classic mind games from Popp. We saw this as our chance to finally beat a great rival and finish third, whereas Germany were upset not to reach the final, but Popp was still determined not to lose. It is a sign of who she is: a winner who will do everything she can to succeed. She has incredible technical and tactical ability but what has always stood out to me is her mental strength. Every professional footballer can kick, head and tackle but in elite sport mentality separates the good from the great, and she certainly falls into the latter category.
