England back-up goalkeepers Ellie Roebuck and Hannah Hampton are hoping for another raucous crowd at their Euro 2022 quarter-final against Spain on Wednesday.
The Lionesses breezed through to the last eight after seeing out the group stages with a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland, and now face world number seven Spain for a place in the semi-final.
And the duo were full of praise for the atmospheres that have been created by the vocal home support so far, as they return to Brighton on Wednesday - the scene of their 8-0 destruction of Norway.
ALSO READ: Lucy Bronze out to stop new Barcelona teammates in crunch Euro 2022 fixture vs Spain
“It’s been insane the atmosphere in all the games, the crowd have been so loud throughout and have been non-stop,” said Hampton on the England YouTube channel.
“You definitely are trying to soak it all in during warm-ups and during the game. There’s a lot of time I am looking around at the fans when the ball has gone out of play - just having a few smiles and waving with a few of them.
Show your support for England as the Lionesses go for glory at Women's Euro 2022!
“It will be so good at the Amex again where it’s a very compact stadium where you can hear the noise."
“The playlist after the game is insane,” added Roebuck. “It’s pure sing-along and everybody is just having a good time.
“Obviously the results have gone our way, there have been loads of goals so I think that helps pump the crowd up but their contribution has been massive and doesn’t go unnoticed, that’s for sure.
“It’s exciting. I think whoever we got, we’re confident in what we need to do, going about our business. Inevitably in a tournament like this you’re going to face tough opposition, especially in knockout rounds. We’re ready.”
England sailed through the group stage, netting 14 goals and conceding zero in their three games against Austria, Norway, and Northern Ireland.
And while there has been plenty of focus on the Lionesses’ goalscoring exploits – 14 is the most ever scored in a group stage of a Women’s Euros – the goalkeeping duo believe England’s defence has been just as important.
“It’s exciting, it’s a nice little challenge, having that reputation of clean sheets,” said Roebuck. “You’re going into every game now with that mentality of keep the ball out of the back of the net. In tournaments like this, that momentum really helps.
“It gives us the best platform to win the games, Mary [Earps, England's first-choice keeper] has been brilliant, the training has been brilliant. It’s been class, the defence has been solid, we can’t really complain.”
Neither Roebuck nor Hampton have made an appearance in the tournament, and may be unlikely to unless there is an injury to Earps, but both hope they have been able to make a difference off the pitch.
“I’d like to say we’ve contributed a little bit – making training hard!” continued Roebuck. “On training days it’s been intense, hard at times, especially for us we’ve done a lot of the blow out sessions on the day after the game.
“Sometimes they’re tough to get motivated for but I think everybody’s application to that has been top class. We’ve helped get each other through.”
“I’d like to think we’ve set the standard pretty high,” added Hampton. “We all have high standards, we’re quite an interesting group – three very different personalities but it seems to work.”
Tickets are on sale now for fans to experience a history-making tournament that aims to unite football and communities and amplify the growth of the women’s game. www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ticketing
