"I don't want to be another player who loses in the semi-finals and doesn't reach the final of a major tournament with England."
A few hours before the semi-final between the "Lionesses" and Sweden, Fran Kirby set the record straight during the press conference.
The 29-year-old England striker wants to break the curse.
After failures in the semi-finals at the 2015 and 2019 Worlds, as well as at Euro-2017, she intends to get her ticket to Wembley on July 31: “I am a very competitive player, so I would like to win. But to be able to win the tournament, we have to perform well in the semi-finals."
"They're going to come with a very physical game. We just need to focus on what we can do to eliminate those threats."@frankirby chats about Sweden đź‘Š pic.twitter.com/EbzIRp5Dap
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 24, 2022
This destiny at the top of world football had been predicted to him by his mother from an early age.
"She often told me a story. She had sent me to a doctor to do some tests. The doctor had thrown a tennis ball to see how I reacted. I guess I should have caught it, but I 'Sent straight to him. My mum then said, 'Okay, I think she's cut out to be a footballer,'" Fran Kirby told The Players' Tribune.
"Some days I couldn't get up"
Very quickly, the little girl indeed shows real abilities.
From the age of 7, she joined the Reading club, her hometown.
His progress is dazzling and his mother continues to encourage him: "She got me out of bed in the morning and when I came home from school, she prepared me a bowl of pasta before I went back to training."
But at 14, everything changes during a meeting with his coaches.
"Suddenly my mum said she wasn't feeling well. She put her head on the table and passed out," she told The Players' Tribune.
The mother, victim of a cerebral hemorrhage, will not wake up.
Fran Kirby then loses her number one fan, the one who had written to her in a letter that she would one day participate in the World Cup.
For several months, the young footballer clings and does not let anything show.
But the depression eventually caught up with her: "Some days I couldn't get up or I couldn't go to university. I couldn't go past the bus stop without starting to cry."
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by Fran Kirby (@frankirby)
The return then the relapse
To try to get better, the hope of English football decides to put an end to his passion and not to touch a single ball.
Two years later, thanks to a friend, she returned to the field and rediscovered the pleasure of playing.
At 19, she regained her place in the Reading team and was still as effective as ever, scoring 33 goals in her first season.
In 2014, she became the club's first player to sign a professional contract.
Despite its small size (1 m 58), Fran Kirby shines on the ground.
To everyone's surprise, she was even selected for the 2015 World Cup, as her mother had predicted, when she only played in the English second division.
In the process, she was also recruited by the Chelsea club for a record amount at the time, between 40,000 and 60,000 pounds.
⚽️ Fran Kirby joined Chelsea ladies { as was known then } on this day 2015 after 14years at Reading FC @frankirby #CFCW @ChelseaFCW pic.twitter.com/taqmyTILKM
—Chelsea FC Women |
Database (@chelsea_women) July 8, 2022
The attacker then won her first titles, an FA Cup and a championship, but she also suffered her first injuries.
Despite ups and downs, she was voted player of the year in 2018. But a year later, it was a new blow.
In November 2019, she suffered severe chest pains and passed out while having dinner with teammates.
The verdict is in: she suffers from pericarditis, an inflammation of the pericardium, the thin protective double-membrane sac that envelops the heart.
The player finds herself away from the field again.
"I was only allowed to climb the stairs twice a day," she told ESPN.
Even if his club decides to call on the Australian Sam Kerr to make up for his absence, he continues to support her.
A few months later, even though some doctors had predicted the end of her career, she felt better and gradually regained her initial form.
To one of her teammates, she then announces: "I will come back and be even better than before."
A Euro to find the light
Fran Kirby keeps her promise and puts on her jersey again.
She regained her place in the squad and even became the top scorer in Chelsea history while winning a league, FA and League Cup treble.
At her best, she was selected for the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021. But in February 2022, the player relapsed, suffering from extreme fatigue.
His chances of participating in the Euro at home are compromised.
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by Fran Kirby (@frankirby)
"I couldn't even walk my dog ​​for five minutes," she said at the start of this competition, which she almost missed.
The attacker goes from specialist to specialist and multiplies the sessions in an oxygen tent at her home.
The origin of her illness remains unknown, but once again, she eventually overcomes her health concerns.
"I have more or less learned now what the triggers are and how to avoid getting sick," she says.
Despite a truncated season, she delivered 11 league assists for the Blues, champions for the third year in a row, and scored 11 goals in 25 matches in all competitions.
The coach of the "Lionesses", Sarina Wiegman, then decides to trust him and integrates him into the 23 for the Euro.
A decision that pays off.
In four matches, the Chelsea player has scored one goal and delivered three assists.
Of course, Fran Kirby has the final and the title in mind, but above all she wants to bring happiness to the English.
The one who has lived through such painful ordeals knows how precious these moments are: "If we are lucky enough to win the semi-final and go to the final, it will be great for people in our country to have something to celebrate. We want to win at all costs, but we want to make people smile even more."
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