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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Beth Lindop

Mary Earps proved what Manchester United fans already know in England victory

In just one word, Mary Earps managed to encapsulate the distinguishing feature that makes her such a formidable force for both club and country.

"Mentality".

In just nine letters - which Earps used on Instagram to accompany a series of photos of England's Finalissima triumph - the Manchester United goalkeeper managed to summarise the story of her all-action display against Brazil.

The Lionesses had started well in front of an enraptured Wembley crowd, and were rewarded for their bolshy attacking approach when United midfielder Ella Toone fired them ahead after just 23 minutes. Chelsea's Lauren James - who spent three seasons with the Reds before her big money switch to Kingsmeadow - thought she had doubled the hosts' advantage minutes later but her smart finish was chalked off for offside, leaving England nursing a precarious lead heading into the second half.

READ MORE: Lionesses squad in full as England boss Sarina Wiegman calls up 11 Man City and Manchester United stars

Brazil - who had looked like a stunned animal in the headlights for much of the opening 45 minutes - were a different beast after the break, and Earps got the first real opportunity to exhibit her world class credentials when the electric Geyse unleashed a ferocious long-range strike just before the hour mark.

Earps was perfectly positioned to palm the Barcelona star's effort on to the top of the crossbar, preserving the Lionesses' lead and further compounding her own air of infallibility. That unconquerable aura did, however, take a hit when - in the dying embers of stoppage time - Brazil forward Adriana drilled a low cross into England's six-yard box.

Earps looked poised to make a routine stop to help her side over the line but surprisingly - almost inexplicably - the England goalkeeper let the ball squirm out of her grasp and into the path of AS Roma's Andressa Alves.

The substitute took full advantage of Earps' blunder, dispatching her right-footed effort with aplomb into the roof of the net. The faintest stirrings of consternation rumbled around Wembley and, in the blink of an eye, England's proud unbeaten record under Sarina Wiegman was under threat.

If they were to triumph in the inaugural Women's Finalissima, they would have do so via penalties.

It is at this juncture that England sides of the past may have imploded. They had been so close to enjoying yet another taste of glory, to writing yet another glittering chapter in history, but perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

Step up Mary Earps.

Since staking her claim to England's No. 1 jersey 18 months ago, the Manchester United 'keeper has spoken candidly about the private struggles that have shaped the course of her career so far and how, in the not too distant past, she feared her football career might be over.

In 2019, after spells with the likes of Doncaster Rovers and Reading, Earps signed for Frauen-Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg in Germany. Over the course of that campaign, she made just four domestic appearances, while her call up to Phil Neville's England squad in November 2019 marked the start of a 22-month international exile.

At that point, the notion she might one day be stepping out at a packed Old Trafford alongside Casemiro - one of the most venerated stars in world football - to parade her The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper Award, would have scarcely been conceivable.

Earps was named The Best Women's Goalkeeper in the world earlier this year (Getty Images)

When she accepted that award at a ceremony in Paris earlier this year, she dedicated it to "anyone who has ever been in a dark place" and thanked the people who had "picked [her] up off the kitchen floor" to help her achieve her dreams.

With that penchant for triumphing over adversity in mind, it is perhaps little wonder that Earps quickly atoned for her earlier misstep by saving from Tamires to draw England level in the shootout. With every save, with every spot-kick, Earps whipped up the crowd until Wembley was a cauldron of England noise.

And when Manchester City's Chloe Kelly slotted the decisive penalty to secure the fourth trophy of Sarina Wiegman's tenure, she - along with the rest of her England teammates - ran straight to Earps.

"I’m just relieved to be honest," the 30-year-old told ITV Sports after Thursday's game. "I feel like that just sums up goalkeeping within the space of five minutes.

"I’m disappointed with [conceding] the goal and would have preferred the clean sheet but I really wanted to make it up to the girls and we won so that’s the most important thing.

"I was just thinking when I was walking out today that I just feel so lucky to be able to what I love. I wouldn’t change it for the world, even when there are little wobbles like tonight. It’s an incredible feeling."

It's the sort of controlled, selfless response United fans have come to expect from Earps. After all, this is a goalkeeper that has kept 11 clean sheets in 17 league games this term, and who became the first shot-stopper in history to amass 50 WSL clean sheets.

While Earps proved against Brazil she isn't faultless, her ability to bounce back from adversity speaks volumes about the player and person she is. And, though both England and Manchester United will have to overcome plenty of hurdles if they are to acomplish their ultimate goals in the coming months, they stand a better chance of doing so with her between the sticks.

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