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Goalkeeper's Cunning Tactic Helps England Clinch Euro Title
8 Aug
Summary
- England keeper Hannah Hampton threw Spanish rival's penalty notes into crowd
- Hampton wrote her own notes on her arm to prevent Spanish keeper from doing same
- England won the Euro 2022 final shootout 3-1 over Spain

In a surprising revelation, England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has disclosed that she deliberately sabotaged her Spanish counterpart's penalty preparations during the Euro 2022 final. According to Hampton, the 24-year-old keeper spotted her Spanish rival, Cata Coll, keeping penalty statistics on a water bottle. Seizing the opportunity, Hampton quickly snatched the bottle and tossed it into the crowd of English fans, ensuring Coll could not refer to the notes.
Instead, Hampton took matters into her own hands, quite literally, by writing her own penalty information on her arm. This strategic move paid off, as Hampton saved two spot-kicks in the shootout, while Salma Paralluelo's miss for Spain sealed England's 3-1 victory and their European championship title.
The incident occurred just moments before the decisive penalty shootout, with the game finishing 1-1 after regulation. Hampton described the situation, saying, "The Spanish keeper had it (penalty notes) on her bottle, so I thought when she was going in goal I'll just pick it up and chuck it into the English fans so she can't have it." Her cunning tactic clearly threw off the Spanish goalkeeper, who was left "so confused" when she returned to find her bottle missing.