The urge that arises when a spectacular athlete calls it a day is to pull out the highlight reel.
When it comes to Mary Earps, who announced her retirement from international football on Tuesday, the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper boasts her own air-tight vault. From lying prostrate on the kitchen floor, believing her time in football had run its course after failing to be selected in the England squad for nearly two years between 2019 and 2021, to transcending her sport, the 32-year-old has made a mark.
Earps ends her 53-cap England career as a reigning European champion; two-time FIFA’s Best goalkeeper; winner of the 2023 World Cup Golden Glove; England Women’s Player of the Year for 2022-23, BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 and the first women’s footballer to be honoured with a waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London. The 32-year-old’s face also graced a tram in Nottingham, her home city.
And who can forget Earps’ iconic penalty save from Spain’s Jenni Hermoso in the 2023 World Cup final, a feat of the coldest proportions that she then one-upped by yelling at the entire Spanish team to (this is paraphrasing, of course) go away, the game ball tucked under her arm like a soccer mum protecting her child’s orange slices.
Or how about when Earps took on Nike for…
