England's high flying Lionesses nearly came down to earth with a bump in the last World Cup - but it brought the team together.
On Tuesday they play Sweden in the Euros semis but many players will count themselves lucky to be there after a near-death experience on a plane in France.
Captain Leah Williamson said: “We nearly went down. We were on an aeroplane going from place to place in the World Cup and this was like our fifth flight… the plane just drops mid-air.”
The Arsenal defender, 25, revealed she has a way to keep her team calm in a crisis – Take a Break puzzles.
She carries them with her when travelling to distract the Lionesses who are scared of flying, such as midfielder Jill Scott. Speaking on Jill’s BBC podcast Coffee Club, Leah said: “As we were walking on to the plane, we’d started doing crosswords.
“Every time my grandma came to a game she bought me Take a Break magazines for all the crosswords and sudoku at the back.
“I had them in my bag so every time I got on a flight and I knew she was nervous, I would give them to her.”
Leah even changed seats to sit next to Jill, knowing she would struggle on the flight, with Leah munching all of Jill’s paprika Pringles as she was too nervous to eat. Jill, 35, said: “I have got a fear of flying. [The drop] was really bad. Even the pilot said it had never happened to him in like 30 years.”
At the time they were listening together to James Morrison hit Love Is Hard.
Jill said: “I actually didn’t really get scared because I was listening to this song.” Leah said: “Someone at the back of the plane actually screamed: ‘We’re going down!’”
Jill said the experience cemented the pair’s friendship, adding: “I am actually forever grateful to Leah for that moment, it actually made our friendship.”
Leah added: “We bonded massively.”
Family support
Leah says she has become a footballing superstar thanks to the tireless support of her close-knit family.
Leah, fresh from her team’s 2-1 quarter final win over Spain in Euro 2022, has told how she owes her success particularly to her mum and grandma, who travel hundreds of miles to support her at games.
Mum Amanda is her biggest fan, regularly posting supportive messages and pictures on social media as she proudly watches her daughter play for Arsenal and England all over the world.
Leah says: “The other week we played Everton and she’d driven up on her own.
“I know that if maybe one day if I have kids, I get it - you do it for your children.
“But to actually say it and do it. My dad came to Belfast and they just love it and I think I always say like we can never repay our parents for what they did for us.”
Leah still lives near all her family in St Albans, Herts, not far from where she grew up in Milton Keynes. She added: “It’s really nice, I’m very grateful for it. I definitely don’t take it for granted. If I get a spare minute, I’m home.”
