Mary Earps: I love playing at Wembley, it's such a special place
- Earps unsurprisingly admits England's Euro 2022 success her favourite footballing memory
- England goalkeeper named 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
- The 30-year-old says being goalkeepers require unique mentality
By Emily Keogh
Claiming the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was the latest feather in the cap for Manchester United and England goalkeeper Mary Earps.
The 30-year-old followed in the footsteps of Lionesses teammate Beth Mead, with her status as one of the most recognisable figures in women's sport now cast in stone.
Earps, more commonly known as the 'TikTok Queen', 'Mearps' or 'Mazza', first saved a penalty when she was 10-year-old, and knew from that moment that she wanted to continue being a goalkeeper. Fast forward almost two decades and Earps kept out Jenni Hermoso's penalty in the second half of the 2023 Women's World Cup final - a huge moment on the biggest stage of all.
"You'll get me really told off my by gran", Earps jokes with 90min, when asked about her viral reaction to the save. "She'll really batter me. She's not yet [told me off] actually, but I think she's waiting for the right moment."
Earps admits that goalkeepers have a unique mentality, based on resilience and having a thick skin, and that one of the biggest challenges of being a professional footballer is that "very few people understand what you go through".
The World Cup Golden Glove winner, awarded to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets, also says that England's Euro 2022 success on home soil is her favourite footballing memory - a victory that ended the country's 56-year wait for international tournament success and one that propelled Earps and her fellow Lionesses into the mainstream.
"A lot of emotion, a lot of blood, sweat and tears," she recalls. "I think it was a lot just in one 90-minute game plus extra time, plus at Wembley, plus at home; it was a lot; it was amazing.
“Wembley is such a special place, and I just think I feel really blessed to have so many incredible memories there, and I just love playing here.
On how she felt as the nerve-wracking finale against Germany was progressing, Earps concedes that "after we scored, it was just like, i just want it to be over."
WATCH 90MIN'S CATCH-UP WITH MARY EARPS IN FULL ON YOUTUBE!
More hotel habits and stories are spilled on’s Hotels.com's newest season of "Perfect Ten." In the hot seat for the series’ third season is Manchester United goalkeeper and international football superstar Mary Earps.