England international hero retires from football after losing place in the side

England’s Euro 2022-winning goalkeeper Mary Earps has announced her retirement from international football. Earps, who was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023 following her

heroics at the World Cup, but will not be part of the England squad in Switzerland this summer. She was given the moniker 'May Queen of Stops'. The goalkeeper informed her

team-mates of her decision on Monday evening in what has been described as an 'awkward' meeting. She has recently lost her starting place with the Lionesses with England top brass

said to be 'disappointed' with the timing of the decision. She has fallen behind Chelsea's Hannah Hampton. Last month Wiegman said: “I have two world-class goalkeepers. At the

moment, [Hannah] is a little bit ahead.” On her retirement Earps said: "I have taken the difficult decision to retire internationally. It has been the greatest honour and privilege of

my life, to wear this badge, represent my country and play alongside such an incredible group of players. "I've spent a long time making this decision and it's not one

I've made lightly. For me, ultimately this is the right time for me to step aside and give the younger generation an opportunity to thrive. "Winning the Euros in 2022 was the best

day of my life and I'm rooting for the girls to do it again this summer." Earps made her first England appearance in 2017 and won numerous individual accolades including two FIFA

Best Awards and a World Cup golden glove. She had been due to link up with the England squad this week ahead of their upcoming Nations League group games against Portugal and Spain. Hampton,

Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse are the other three keepers in the group. Manager Sarina Wiegman said: "I had hoped that Mary would play an important role within the squad this

summer, so of course I am disappointed. Mary has been clear on her reasons why she has made the decision and it is something we need to accept. "Mary has made a huge contribution to not

only the team, but the whole of English football. "We will cherish those memories and of course give Mary the tributes she deserves after the summer, but for now the focus needs to be

on the upcoming UEFA Women's Nations League fixtures and the Euros." It comes after Earps hoped ‘the next Sarina Wiegman’ can be found through an innovative coaching programme

celebrating its first anniversary. PSG star Earps swapped Paris for Barnet in a bid to inspire the next generation of female coaching talent and met Shahla Khaliqiar, who is the head coach

of three teams as well as an assistant coach at Brentford FC's Community Sports Trust. Lionesses shot-stopper Earps, who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2023,

provided tips on adapting her sessions to support goalkeepers and discuss the importance of creating more coaching opportunities for women. “It’s been so much fun to meet Shahla, hear about

her coaching journey and see the positive impact she’s already having on this group of young women, said Earps. “It’s really important that we run programmes like this to help break down

those barriers to entry and inspire more women like Shahla to get into football coaching. You never know – we could be seeing the next Sarina Wiegman.”