The 'keeper was distraught after conceding against the Netherlands, but Sarina Wiegman was right to dismiss the comments from her No.1

At Wembley on Friday night, there was a stark contrast between the reactions to the full-time whistle in the stands and on the pitch. While England fans celebrated after a 3-2 comeback win against the Netherlands, the Lionesses were downbeat, knowing that the one-goal margin hadn’t aided them much in their quest to top their Women’s Nations League group. But there was another level of emotion on the face of star goalkeeper Mary Earps.

Had England won by a two-goal margin, it would’ve made their chances of reaching the next stage of this competition a little bit more straight-forward. That thought was clearly on the mind of their shot-stopper as she broke down in tears on the Wembley turf, despite attempts to console her from Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman and former Manchester United team-mate Alessia Russo.

"I'm just sorry that my performance has cost the team tonight,” Earps told , expressing huge disappointment at her inability to keep out the Netherlands’ second goal of the night. “That will haunt me for a long time. I've really let the team down today. I'm really gutted, really, really gutted. It could've been a really special night at Wembley. The team were unbelievable. The girls were phenomenal. I'm a competitor and when it isn't good enough, it isn't good enough. I can only apologise to my team-mates."

Wiegman was having none of it, completely dismissing the idea that Earps was at fault for the result in her post-match press conference. After all, there are plenty of reasons why England find themselves needing to win by a significant margin in Tuesday’s clash with Scotland in order to reach the next round of the Nations League, thus keeping Great Britain’s chances of having a team in the women’s football tournament at next summer’s Olympics alive. There was plenty more that happened in the 90 minutes at Wembley that meant it finished 3-2, too.

And, moreover, Earps has saved this England team plenty of times before and will do again and again. She might not have been faultless in recent months but she is still, by far, one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

GettyNear-perfect

For around two years, it felt like Earps was near-perfect. When Wiegman took over as England boss in September 2021, she brought the Manchester United star back into the Lionesses’ squad for the first time since late 2019 and made her No.1.

Immediately, it was evident that she took a lot of confidence from the belief bestowed in her by the Dutchwoman. Throughout the 2021-22 season, into the European Championships in England that summer, then across the 2022-23 season and into this year’s Women’s World Cup, Earps was absolutely outstanding.

In the early parts of her career, it was clear that she had talent, with her catching the eye especially in spells with Bristol and Reading, so much so that she was signed by two-time European champions Wolfsburg in the summer of 2018.

However, it has been the impressive ironing out of errors that has helped take her game to the next level. That combined with her ability to make truly outstanding saves, the improvements in her distribution and the way she commands her area allowed her to play key roles in England’s Euros success in 2022, United’s unlikely title challenge last season and the Lionesses’ run to the World Cup final earlier this year.

Unsurprisingly, it’s all resulted in individual recognition, most notably the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper award, the Women's World Cup's Golden Glove and the accolade of being England's Women's Player of the Year. She is the hot favourite to win the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year later this month, too.

AdvertisementGettyOnly human

But the fact remains that Earps is human, and the last few months have been a reminder of that. Having performed at the highest of levels almost solidly for around two years, the England star has struggled for consistency since the World Cup ended in August, for club and country.

In the Lionesses’ September international break, she was fantastic. In United’s Champions League qualifier with Paris Saint-Germain, her decisions were questionable. In England’s first game against Belgium in October, she shone. In the rematch, she faltered. In the Manchester Derby, she was in the headlines for the wrong reasons. In United's next outing, she made a crucial save in a narrow win.

But every player goes through ups and downs, and this is probably the first time in two years that Earps has neared a tricky spell of form, one that has still been peppered with some outstanding saves and performances despite a few errors.

Getty ImagesStruggles

Why have mistakes started to creep in now, then? Well, Earps spoke candidly in September about how difficult it was for her to be “heavily scrutinised” in the wake of transfer links to Arsenal. It would hardly be a surprise if that affected her in the early stages of the season.

“It's been tough to be honest,” she told . “It's been a tough few weeks for me personally. I have tried to keep my head down and get on with things, but it's been hard to see how I've been portrayed at times, having your body language and your facial expressions heavily scrutinised. I care deeply about Manchester United as a club and all I have ever tried to do is give my absolute best.”

There’s also the fact that she has set incredibly high standards for herself, so a few errors and a bit of inconsistency in this spell stands out even more when compared to the outstanding heights she has hit over the last two years.

Among it all, that Earps is England’s only capped goalkeeper currently playing regular football – with both Hannah Hampton and Ellie Roebuck yet to see a minute of action for club or country this season, while Sandy MacIver has switched allegations to Scotland – doesn’t look all that good. While the quality of training sessions with the Lionesses will be sky high, being kept on your toes never does anyone any harm.

GettyUnder the microscope

Team performances should be taken into account, too. The Lionesses, for starters, haven’t been at their best since the World Cup – nor, really, during it, despite a run to the final. There are a lot of reasons for that.

United, meanwhile, haven’t come out of the blocks at the start of this new season quite like they did last year, with a lot of summer changes contributing to the fact that they are already seven points off the pace at the top of the WSL.

All of it means that any errors, from anyone, come under the microscope a little bit more, as they’re suddenly more likely to be decisive in games because neither team is performing as convincingly as before.

“We'll always owe to Mary, right? Because she's a goalkeeper that is world-class and she'll make saves, but also, that's her job and she does it very, very well,” United boss Marc Skinner said earlier this season. “We'll always look to that, but I also look to her to do that because she's this level of goalkeeper. I suppose she doesn’t get as much credit as maybe she deserves for that because we expect it, because she's that level.”

In the same press conference, Skinner stated plainly that “even as good as Mary is, she can't stop everything.” Earps is excellent at what she does, but a team can’t always rely on her to do it. As Wiegman said after her goalkeeper’s distraught interview at Wembley on Friday, you win as a team and you lose as a team. Everyone makes errors along the way, but perhaps those from a goalkeeper come under the microscope a lot more.