Prospect of collecting 50th England cap ‘surreal’ for forward Hemp | OneFootball

Forward Lauren Hemp says that the prospect of collecting her 50th senior cap for England is a surreal feeling.

The 23-year-old will become a half-centurion for the Lionesses if she plays in their UEFA Women’s Nations League fixture against The Netherlands at Wembley this evening.

The Manchester City forward made her senior England debut a little over four years ago and she has been a regular in the side ever since.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Hemp said that the prospect of collecting a 50th senior cap is a surreal feeling, especially given the fact that tonight’s game is at Wembley.

“It’s pretty surreal and it’d be a surreal feeling,” Hemp said. “To do it at Wembley, there’s no better place than to do it there. It’d be an incredible feeling if I was able to do that.

“Every cap is special to me but to make 50 would just be incredible. If you’d have told me that at the age of 23, I’d have 50 caps, I don’t think I’d believe you.”

Going on to discuss her previous 49 caps, Hemp said that some of her greatest experiences with England have come at the national stadium.

She said “Looking back, a lot of the big games that I have had have come at Wembley. The EURO final stands out for me, the game against Brazil where we won another trophy and the USA match as well. A lot of them have been at Wembley, so there’s no better time than the present (to make 50 caps).

“There’s a lot at stake and we know as a group what is expected of us. When it comes down to it and we are under pressure, a lot of the time, we do the job. Hopefully, we can do that (against The Netherlands).”

Nothing less than a win will do for England against the Dutch and Hemp believes that the home crowd can play a massive role in helping the Lionesses to achieve their aims.

“We are expecting 75,000 plus,” the forward said. “It will be so important (for us) for the fans to turn up. Every time they come, they make incredible noise and it just gives us as a team so much of a boost. Their support will be vital.

“As a team, we are in a great place. We’ve had a few days of good training, we know what to expect from ourselves and we’re ready to do a job.”

England’s UEFA Women’s Nations League fixture against The Netherlands kicks-off at 7.45pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.