Golden Boot Winner To Substitute - England's Mead On Role 'shift'

England guardant Beth Mead's domiciled astatine Euro 2025 is very different to nan 1 she enjoyed 3 years ago.

Named subordinate of nan tourney and victor of nan Golden Boot, Mead played a starring domiciled successful England's occurrence astatine Euro 2022.

Her stunning performances were capped disconnected pinch six goals and 5 assists - nan astir successful nan tournament.

It led to countless honours including being named nan BBC Sports Personality of nan Year, arsenic good arsenic coming runner-up successful nan Ballon d'Or and Uefa Player of nan Year Awards.

But truthful acold successful Switzerland, 30-year-old Mead has started conscionable 1 of England's 4 games, scoring erstwhile successful nan 6-1 Group D triumph complete Wales.

She has adapted to a caller domiciled arsenic 1 of Sarina Wiegman's 'finishers' - a word nan squad usage to definitive nan value of nan substitutes.

"You've sewage to beryllium fresh to spell into nan moment," Arsenal guardant Mead told BBC Sport.

"You've sewage to beryllium fresh to spell into a position that you mightiness not want to play aliases don't usually play successful and that was what was different for maine [against Sweden].

"I ended up playing successful midfield arsenic a number six and past I was a number 10 - I changed position a fewer times successful nan crippled and I loved it.

"I emotion being connected nan pitch, I emotion being capable to do what I tin do for nan squad but they're nan things that you person to beryllium capable to do arsenic a player.

"You person to expect nan unexpected and beryllium consenting to do what you request to do for nan squad and nan greater good."

England's substitutes person played a cardinal domiciled successful Switzerland, scoring 3 goals en way to nan semi-finals.

Since Euro 2022, England substitutes person scored 4 result-altering goals - each successful knockout games - which is much than immoderate different nation.

It is up to Mead, among others, to proceed to supply Wiegman pinch squad depth.

"It's not easy erstwhile you cognize you're not starting and you're playing good aliases immoderate but I deliberation that's what has group america isolated arsenic a team," she added.

"The togetherness, nan willingness to effort to make each different better, to effort to make each different consciousness for illustration we tin fig it out.

"That's thing that I've besides seen arsenic a displacement of my role. I really cognize really important that is - from being a starter to being competitory successful training - to make america better. So acold I deliberation we're doing a bully occupation of that."