Jill Scott's mum has paid an emotional tribute to the Manchester City star after her role in the Lionesses’ European Championships success.
Sarina Wiegman’s side ended their long wait for a major honour against Germany - with the nation lifting their first trophy since 1966. Whilst the success was a remarkable achievement for every member of the Lionesses squad, it would certainly have been satisfying for Scott.
The 35-year-old has been part of the England set-up since 2006 and had previously earned a runners-up medal at the 2009 edition of the tournament, whilst she was also part of the squad that finished third at the Women’s World Cup in Canada seven years ago.
After the wild celebrations at Wembley, Scott’s mum Doreen took to Twitter with a touching message for her daughter alongside an image of the midfielder in an embrace with Prince William - the royal having assisted in handing out the winners’ medals.
She wrote: “What sticks in my mind is Jill’s first competitive game aged 7 only girl on the team, and one of the oppositions parents shouting 'just kick her down she's ONLY a girl' !!!!!! never give up on your dreams !”
Scott eventually ended up making an appearance in the final - her fourth of the tournament - Wiegman introducing her from the bench. That now puts her second in the list of the Lionesses’ all-time appearance makers with 161 caps to her name.
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She only needs to make a further 11 to overtake record holder for both the men and the women’s sides, Fara Williams.
The embrace between Scott and Prince William held extra meaning with the pair having grown close over the past decade after initially meeting at a charity event and the Lioness inadvertently leaving a scar on the Royal’s leg with a slightly misjudged challenge.
Speaking previously, she said: "It stems back to about 10 years ago when we did a charity event and I slipped and side-tackled him and actually wiped him out. The running joke whenever he sees us is, ‘No yellow cards this tournament Jill!’.”
Scott also garnered headlines during the final with keen-eyed viewers picking up on an expletive-ridden rant at Germany star Sydney Lohmann after being pulled down to the ground.
Even BBC commentator Robyn Cowen was forced to apologise. During the match, she said: “Apologies to any lip readers. Not sure you need to be one to figure out what Jill Scott thought of that.”
Following their Euros success, the Lionesses are back in action in September for World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Luxembourg, whilst they have announced a friendly clash with the United States the following month.
