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SHE grew up diving for balls under the Spanish sun – and now Hannah Hampton has dived her way into English football folklore.
England goalkeeper who spent most of her youth in Spain made two huge saves to help the Lionesses win back-toback European Championships.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Birmingham-born star stunned reporters by giving her post-match interviews in fluent Spanish – earning cheers from fans on both sides of the pitch and going viral online within hours.
With Spanish fans left speechless and English expats swelling with pride, Hampton is being hailed as the ‘bilingual brick wall’ who shut down Spain’s dreams and cemented England’s place as Europe’s queens once again.
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Birmingham-born goalkeeper spent her formative years in Spain. She moved there with teacher parents aged five. While living near Villarreal, her school playground kickabouts led to a trial and eventual place in the Villarreal CF youth academy – initially as a striker whose fluency in Spanish developed alongside her footballing talents.
That early exposure to Spanish football philosophy – tight passing, technical play, and comfort with the ball at her feet – helped shape her style. Hampton attributes her ball-playing and distribution skills to her time spent in Spain.
120 minutes of drama had been delivered by the 1-1 final. History was made on penalties. After Beth Mead’s early miss, all eyes turned to Hampton – and she didn’t flinch. The 23-year old saved two penalties, one from Ballon d’Or-winner Aitana Bonnamati and the other from Mariona Caledentey. This gave England an edge.
Hampton, who was smiling and seamlessly switching between languages after the match told Spanish-language media that he played “against the country I call home today”. “But my heart’s with England – and I’m so proud of what we’ve done.”.
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