England star Hannah Hampton says 'people don't realise' as she prepares heartbreaking goodbye

Hannah Hampton has opened up about England's UEFA Women's Euros 2025 win as she prepares to say a heartbreaking goodbye.

Hampton's two saves saves in the penalty shootout with Spain to decide last Sunday's final capped off a brilliant Euros for the Chelsea stopper, who set the stage for Chloe Kelly to fire in the winning spot-kick and ensure the Lionesses defended their crown.

The 24-year-old was named player of the match after the final, and on Monday, revealed she was heartbroken that her grandad did not live to see her fulfil their shared dream of seeing her play for England at a major tournament, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Posting to her Instagram alongside a picture of her green England shirt with "grandpa" printed in the neckline, she wrote: "Dear Grandpa.

"Two days before the biggest tournament of my life, you left. It still doesn't feel real. I kept thinking when I'd call nannie I'd hear your voice again – one of your jokes, or one of those little comments you'd make that somehow said everything without saying much at all.

"You were one of my biggest supporters. You believed in me before I even knew what this journey would look like. You were always there: watching, encouraging, teaching. You taught me so much, not just about football, but about life. About staying grounded, working hard, being resilient and doing things the right way.

"I miss our chats. I miss you saying, 'only us athletes understand' - always with a little smirk like you were in on something special. And you were. You got it. You understood what this meant to me. You understood what it took."

The goalkeeper has now appeared in her first live TV interview since the Lionesses' winning moment, where she opened up on her two penalty saves and the battles she has faced.

"Sometimes I say I don't like it and sometimes I say I love it," she said on Good Morning Britian. "I think the two penalty shootouts we had, I probably didn't like it. We made it hard for ourselves, let's be honest.

"I thought I’ve got to do my bit for the team and save a couple, but the first one against Sweden, it kept going on and on and on - we probably gave half the nation a heart attack."

Telling Kate and Ed how her grandpa was that "extra bit of help", Hannah said: “I remember speaking to him so many times about what we wanted to achieve as a group, and how proud he was.

"All of the time he wanted to come to my football games or watch it on the TV. He would be on the phone straight after. It was hard at the beginning. The girls helped me so much to get through it, and it was hard after games when you wanted to call home and wouldn’t hear his voice.

"My whole point was to not put it out for sympathy. People don’t realise what goes on in people’s lives, so I don’t want people to keep giving all the hate comments and the abuse.

"You don’t know if people are already at a low point, and having that extra bit of fuel isn’t going to help them. People are entitled to their opinions, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a way that you can go about them in a nicer way."

At the end of the interview, asked by Ed Balls asked: 'What is next?', to which the WSL star replied: "We need to bring football home well and truly, and that World Cup in Brazil will be incredible.

"I have faith that we can bring it home and I’m sure the whole nation does after the weekend. We will be going out to give it our best, that’s for sure!"