Lauren Hemp on hoping to inspire next generation of Lionesses and facing ‘tough’ Wales side | OneFootball

England forward Lauren Hemp says she is proud to inspire the next generation of Lionesses as they look to confirm their place in the knockout stages of Euro 2025.

The Lionesses were back to their best against the Netherlands, thrashing them 4-0 following a disappointing opening game defeat to France.

Hemp, who played a vital role in the victory over the Dutch, says she is honoured to inspire the next generation of Lionesses.

“It’s great to be role models,” Hemp said. “Something we always hope for is to bring the younger generation with us and really show them what it takes to be a women’s footballer.

“We’re all loving it here at this tournament and we want to show people that just doing the thing that you love can also be your job. It’s important to show that.

“When we are walking around Zurich, it’s so nice to see younger girls and boys wanting to grow up and be like you. It’s incredible and it makes me so proud to remember the journey that I had once when I was a young girl wanting to grow up and be Jill Scott or Steph Houghton.

“It’s so nice to see, and it’s so great to be able to pave the way and to show girls that your dreams can come true.”

The 24-year-old Lioness grew up in North Walsham, Norfolk, where she started her football journey playing with a boys team.

“I come from an area where there wasn’t many opportunities,” she said.

“I played for a boys team when I was younger. There weren’t many girls teams around.

“Looking back now and seeing how many girls teams there are, how many girls are taking up football from the area that I am from, it’s incredible to see.

“I always get messages of girls being inspired and now I see so many opportunities. It makes you remember all the hard work that you have done when I see that when I go back home.”

England will seek to make more history over the coming weeks as they gear up to face Wales in their final group game at Women’s Euro 2025. The task is straight forward, win and England are in the knockouts.

“We all want to improve the women’s game, and this is a great rivalry that we have,” Hemp expressed. “These are the games you want to be involved in, and they’re the ones that I absolutely love playing in.

“We are all very excited about it, we don’t need to explain the rivalry, it’s a derby. We want to win, end of story. We’re going to do whatever we can to do that.

“It’s going to be a really tough match, we’ve got so much respect for Wales. They’ve done really well in the competition so far, but we’re very desperate to win and we know what it’s going to take to win.

“We’ve reviewed the last game, we’ve looked at the game going forward and I think we’re just going to play to our strengths and do what we do. You never know what you’re going to get from this England team, but you will get a lot of fight and a lot of character.”