Beth Mead interview: We're now judged like England men's team – that is a good thing

Telegraph

7 hours ago

Beth Mead has experienced the highest of highs as a footballer and the lowest of lows as a daughter who lost her mother just a few months later.
It was three years ago that Mead won the European Championship with England, ending the tournament with the Golden Boot and the year as BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Her life changed forever. She became a household name, a celebrity. And at the same time, she was left without her mum, June, to help steer her through it.
'Our lives changed almost overnight,' Mead tells Telegraph Sport. 'It was a big change at rapid speed. I went into the tournament as a footballer and came out of it as someone who was famous. That wasn't what I was expecting.
'Women's football in this country changed forever after that tournament. At Arsenal, our attendances flew through the roof. There was more television coverage and the game changed for the better.
'In terms of the celebrity side, it was a little weird at first. On a personal level, it was a big change, but whenever someone came up to me, in the back of my mind, I knew this was good for women's football. I'm an extrovert, it comes more easily to me to speak to people, but some found it a little harder to adapt.'
There were challenges ahead for Mead, though. An anterior cruciate ligament injury in late 2022 ruled her out of the following year's World Cup and then she had to navigate her way through the trauma of losing a parent, without the release of playing the sport she loved.
'I think I went from the highest high in my life to the lowest of lows in the space of six months,' she says. 'I found out quite quickly after the Euros that my mum's cancer was terminal. I was trying to manoeuvre being this person who had achieved something they had always dreamed of, to being a daughter who was going to lose her mum.
'I was trying to come to terms with a new life with the dread of knowing that my mum was not going to be by my side. We were incredibly close, that was a tough path to figure out.
'To then do my ACL alongside that, it was a really horrible time, but it has helped mould me into the person I am today. I am a very lucky person because of the people I have around me. The people who really love me. You find out who those people are in dark moments like that.
'I have a great family and a family away from family, the Arsenal girls. They showed up for me at the hardest time of my life. Those moments when I thought I can't do this, they were by my side to help show me I could.'
It has given the 30-year-old a unique perspective on not just football, but life. Back in the England squad as they prepare to defend their European crown in Switzerland, Mead has been through so much. She has forged strength in the face of adversity; a sense that whatever is thrown at her, she will overcome.
These are qualities England need more than ever. The Lionesses have reached at least the semi-finals of every major tournament since 2015, but their form recently has been patchy. There has been criticism of their performances and players have departed. The sudden retirement of Mary Earps on the eve of the Euros was closely followed by that of Fran Kirby, another key figure in their success.
When England's captain in Australia, Millie Bright, announced she was making herself unavailable for selection for the Euros to prioritise her 'mental and physical wellbeing' there was a sense of crisis engulfing the camp. Bright, like Earps, is understood to have been told she was no longer a guaranteed starter by manager Sarina Wiegman.
Where once there had been only praise and good wishes, there were now barbed questions and scrutiny of the motives behind those decisions. Expectations are incredibly high too. You might argue the Lionesses have become victims of their own success but, interestingly, Mead does not entertain the idea they are victims of anything. Her message is a blunt one: this is what women's football wanted – deal with it.
'We are being judged how the England men's team always has been,' said Mead, with the sort of straight-talking approach that betrays her Yorkshire roots. 'One hundred per cent that is a good thing for me. That is how big women's football has become. It doesn't make it easier for some people and yes, it can be difficult, but top and bottom, we have to deal with it and cope with it. If there is criticism in the media, if there is outside noise, it should give us an extra point to prove.'
Reflecting on England's inconsistency since winning the Euros in 2022 and reaching the World Cup final a year later, Mead expands on her point.
'It has been up and down [since the World Cup],' she says. 'We've had some good performances and some not good ones. I guess we have been in a transition period.
'There was a lot of familiarity in the group and that changed through retirements. We've had more change on the eve of the tournament, but that is done. We have to pull together, make it right and deliver. I always back us going into tournaments that we will get it right.
'There might be a perception that we are not the same force we were. But that was around the team when we went to the World Cup and the team got to the final.
'We know what comes as part and parcel of playing for England now. The expectations are huge and there is pressure, there is noise, but we are going out there to win the thing.
'I don't shy away from that expectation and pressure, we have to embrace it and as one of the senior players that is what I've been drilling into people. We're playing for England, this is what comes with it.
'There is going to be criticism attached to that. Throughout my career, I've always been criticised as well as praised. It's not something that worries me or bothers me.
'I understand that for some people it's not easy to have to deal with that and it can hurt. It's not our favourite part of playing the game, but we wanted the game to grow, we wanted the attention and with that expectation comes pressure. If you don't live up to it, there will be criticism. It should just give us an extra fire inside to prove people wrong.
'There is nothing better than shutting people up by performing on the pitch. That is the challenge we take on and it is one we are relishing. I think we should use it as motivation, not shy away from it. People can say what they want, we win games and it all goes away. Suddenly the story is different, isn't it?'
Mead is diplomatic when asked about the loss of three senior players, insisting she respects their decision, but echoed the words of Wiegman when she said the squad had already moved on.
'They are big characters we are going to miss,' she says. 'They are players I've played with for a long time at international level. It will be a little bit weird not having them there, but at the same time, everyone has their own journey. These girls made their decisions for whatever reason and you have to respect that.
'We have to push on with the players we have here now. National teams evolve, there are always going to be changes. The last Euros was three years ago, you've got to make the best out of the situation, not worry about players who aren't going to be there.'
There will always be one person Mead will miss; someone she will always struggle to cope without. 'I still think about my mum every single day,' she adds. 'Something will happen… a song on the radio, I'll hear her voice when someone says something. There are days when I think about her more than others, but there is always something.
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'When I got the call from Sarina to say I had been called up to the England squad, she said to me I'm super happy for you to be in the squad, the first without your mum and that makes it very very different.
'For her to still understand and recognise that for me, it was very special. She lost her sister just before the Euros and we have that connection. We have lost someone we love and everything that comes with that. It never leaves you, but you have to get on with life.'
It is an approach England will do well to follow this summer.
'I want to inspire kids when we play in Euros this summer'
How do famous names spend their precious downtime? In our weekly My Saturday column, celebrities reveal their weekend virtues and vices. This week: Beth Mead
8am
What time the day starts depends on what time kick-off is. I would love a lie-in, but my dog Myle really doesn't. She's a little cocker spaniel, brown with a white chest and ginger paws. I'm biased but she's gorgeous and I love her to bits. She's like me – full of energy, and a big personality, a big alpha woman
9am
I've been away from my partner Vivianne [Miedema, who plays for Manchester City] since she left Arsenal, so it's nice to have quality time whenever we can. When it's not a match day, we'll go for a walk and have brunch and a coffee. I live by the countryside near St Albans so Myle is free to roam wherever she likes, as long as she behaves.
10am
I live very close to the Arsenal training ground, so I drive over and get my breakfast at the club. I'm a creature of habit and eat what I eat to be able to feel good on the pitch, so it'll be avocado on toast with scrambled eggs or anything else to do with eggs, I'm a big egg fan.
11am
We get on the bus to travel to the club. I play Monopoly Deal with Caitlin Foord, Katie McCabe and Alessia Russo. Katie has got 10 wins more than most of us, so we're not happy about that. We use a few rude words sometimes.
12pm
Head into the stadium where I'll always go straight to see the physio. I'm actually very chilled before a match – when I'm on the physio bench, I play Candy Crush on my phone so that I don't think about the game too much, I just switch my brain off.
2pm
When I go out for the warm-up, I'm in full focus mode. I'm getting old now so I've got to do that little bit of extra work, prepare correctly, and then get out there and play a good game of football.
5pm
A lot of the girls find it really hard to switch off after a match, but it's one of my superpowers – I think some of them are very envious. But, win or lose, I'll always look at myself in the mirror, check my own performance, and look at what went right and what went wrong, and what could be done better. I'll then go over it the next day with coaches, looking at clips of the match. I'm my own worst enemy, definitely my harshest critic.
7pm
It's nice to switch off and cook for myself. I'm very good at risotto and can make a nice lasagne or fajitas. I don't go out often but, if I do, it's for good food, good people and good chat. It depends where I am as to how much I get recognised. If one person talks to you, you're in trouble, other times, I pass by unnoticed. I meet a lot of young fans at McDonald's Fun Football sessions, where boys and girls have a safe environment to play for free. I never got the chance to do something like this as a kid and it would have made my footballing journey a lot easier. It's nice to meet them and give them a core memory – it depends who they support though, maybe not if they're the Chelsea fans! But I hope we can inspire every single one of them while we're out in Switzerland representing the nation.
9pm
I've seen Game of Thrones right the way through before and gone back to the beginning. I'm watching it with Steph Catley, my close friend [and Arsenal team-mate], so it's fantastic seeing her reaction when a character dies. We've also been watching Married At First Sight: Australia – that is a very entertaining show.
10.30pm
Chill in the bath. Then it's the same bedtime every night, I'm serious about my routine. My head hits the pillow and I'm out. My dad is like that so it's something he passed on to me, which I very much don't take for granted.
​​Beth Mead kicked off the first McDonald's all-girls Fun Football day, with up to 300,000 hours of free coaching sessions across the UK this summer.