has won the hearts of the nation, gaining even greater levels of admiration thanks to her in the .
Following ’s close 1-0 defeat against , fans have been remembering a particularly powerful moment that the player had when she won an important award last year.
In 2022, the 30-year-old won The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award, and she gave a moving speech as she walked up on stage to collect the coveted accolade, which has been described as being ‘absolutely from the heart’.
‘I don’t really know what to say. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I feel really honoured to be holding this really heavy trophy,’ the footballer began.
‘And I just want to say thank you so much to my loved ones who have picked me up off the kitchen floor to be here today. Not specifically tonight, but a few years ago.’
Mary expressed her gratitude to her teammates, as well as the coaching staff for Man U and England, before turning to England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who has now led two teams in a row to the Women’s World Cup final.
‘Sarina, I’ve run out of words to say thanks to you for the opportunity you’ve given me to chase my wildest dreams and for believing in me in the way you have,’ the goalie said, as the camera panned to the manager.
Mary then opened up about knowing what it’s like to be in a ‘dark place’ in life, and to find ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.
‘This is for anyone who’s ever been in a dark place, just know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to,’ she said.
‘Sometimes success looks like this, collecting trophies. Sometimes it’s just waking up and putting one step in front of the other. There’s only one of you in the world and that’s more than good enough. Be unapologetically yourself. Thank you everyone.’
After the clip began circulating on Twitter as England landed their spot in the Women’s World Cup final, one person dubbed Mary a ‘legend’.
‘Worth a listen, humbling and wise words. ???,’ someone else said in response to the awards show moment, while another wrote: ‘What a speech! Incredible lady and player for England.’
One person emphasised how impactful Mary’s words could be for others, writing: ‘Terrific player but also a great role model. Not just for kids, but for anyone who might be struggling.’
Another said that the speech was ‘better than most Oscar speeches’.
‘Absolutely from the heart. Play this in all school assemblies because if this doesn’t inspire then nothing will,’ a Twitter user said, as another added: ‘She held the entire audience with her words, and you could see from their faces how moved they were. An incredible athlete and role model, just phenomenal.’
Following the Women’s World Cup 2023 final, Mary shared a photo on Instagram showing her crouching down on the pitch at the end of the match, with a sole broken heart as her caption.
