The Manchester City star is one of the best wingers in the game, but it's her impact in another role that means she's starting to thrive in Australia
England’s Lauren Hemp doesn’t like to admit it but she is, in her own words, a bit of a bad loser. Whether it’s training sessions, big matches or games not even related to football, she doesn’t like to lose. Fortunately, then, she doesn’t do it much. Since joining Manchester City as a 17-year-old and debuting for England not long after her 19th birthday, Hemp has done a lot of winning.
That’s not just in the domestic cups she’s lifted with her club or the major tournament triumph she enjoyed with her country last summer, either. Hemp also has four PFA Women's Young Player of the Year accolades to her name and has twice been included in the Women's Super League Team of the Year. It’s fair to say that a lot of the time, her team win because of her contributions.
England didn’t start the Women’s World Cup in flying form. There have been some stuttering performances and some scares on their way to the semi-finals, in which they will face co-hosts Australia on Wednesday.
But they’re finding their feet now, and it’s no surprise that the improvements have coincided with an upturn in fortunes for Hemp, whose match-winning qualities may well come in handy again as the Lionesses look to reach the final of this competition for the very first time.
GettyBright young talent
It was Willie Kirk who brought Hemp into the WSL, signing her for Bristol City in 2016, and her impact on the first team was so quick that it was a challenge for him as a coach.
“It was obvious she played with the boys her whole career because she just had that pace and power and strength and tenacity,” Kirk explained to Man City’s website last year. “Things that were quite unique in the women’s game I suppose and certainly unique at the level we were playing at and the level of players we had.
“I always talk about when I spoke with her mum and dad about trying to find a way to drop her [from the senior team] because my big worry was that at 16 and 17 years old, she was playing every 90 minutes. I never wanted her to feel that she’d achieved everything that she could at Bristol so I was trying to find ways to leave her out the team, but it was so difficult!”
Within two years, she was moving to Manchester to join one of the country’s biggest clubs and settling into an environment that she believes is the perfect place for her to thrive and win. Less than 12 months later, she would play a Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley, score in it and win the trophy. Hemp had shown incredible promise at Bristol, but she would hit new levels in the north west. Today, she’s one of the best wingers in the country.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMaking her mark
Those qualities are starting to be seen at international level now, too. Hemp made her first start for England against the United States women’s national team in Florida as a 19-year-old and, despite defeat, was the Lionesses’ best player. She’s backed it up with some big moments since, scoring at the Euros last year, netting against the U.S. at Wembley in October and, more recently, scoring twice at this World Cup.
She’s not quite lit up the international stage like she has the WSL but, at 23 years old, it will come, and this might be the moment that we are seeing that potential come to fruition at this level.
After netting to double England’s lead over China in the group stages, Hemp’s strike against Colombia on Saturday in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals was her most important goal for her country to date. The Lionesses were trailing against their South American opponents, who were growing in confidence, but she pounced on a mistake in the box to level things up right on half-time.
It was a game-changing moment that allowed her team to recover and eventually seal a place in the last four.
GettyChanging role
But while Hemp is known as an electric out-and-out winger, the role she has shone in for England at this tournament has not been that.
Head coach Sarina Wiegman made a huge tactical change before the game against China, switching to a 3-5-2 set-up that she’d not previously used in her tenure. Partnering striker Alessia Russo up top was Hemp.
It’s not something that she is massively unfamiliar with – indeed, against the U.S. last year, Hemp was playing as a No.9 when she scored against the world champions – though it’s certainly new for her to be in a front two and to be building that kind of relationship with Russo.
But the two complement each other well. They are different players entirely, but they both have good instincts in the box and have qualities that pose a serious threat for any opponent.
Against Colombia, their potential was recognised in the best way yet, with both constantly looking to get their head down, run at the defence and cause problems – which they certainly did, both getting on the scoresheet as England won 2-1.
GettyFeeling free
Speaking to after the win, Hemp simply described herself as feeling “free” on the pitch. It’s a great way to sum up how she looks on it in this role, too. “I love playing wing, don't get me wrong,” she explained. “But [now] I can go down the left or the right.”
Against Colombia, Hemp attempted 13 dribbles, which was by far and away the most of any player on the pitch. She looked incredibly confident that she could beat anyone she ran at and if she didn’t, she stretched the defence in doing so. It put the opponent on the back foot often and opened space for others.
"They worked so hard for the team, they were everywhere,” Wiegman said of Hemp and Russo afterwards. “To play forward, I thought in the beginning we had to keep it better but they were really challenging their defence all the time."