Ex-Lioness Siobhan Chamberlain says some England questions ‘need answering’, talks sipping tea celebrations and life after White and Scott

In the fourth part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, former England and Manchester United goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain talked about her hopes of the Lionesses facing USA in the World Cup final and the lack of leaders since the retirements of Ellen White and Jill Scott.

Chamberlain has already spoken about England’s World Cup prospects, discussed her thoughts on social media and former Lionesses manager Phil Neville as well as thinking she was going to give birth at Wembley during the Euros win!

England can go all the way, but some questions still need answering

Off the back of the success of the Euros, it’s a brilliant time for women’s football in this country as a whole. The Lionesses will be full of confidence because they’ve finally managed to go one step further. We’ve been in semi-finals before, won bronze medals at World Cups, silver medals at the Euros, but to go that one step further…it changes your mentality.

All of a sudden you start thinking ‘we can do it’, ‘we are winners’. And I think that’s something the USA have had over every other team in the past. People talk about the arrogance that they have, but they can afford to have it because they’ve always been winners. Well, now England have got that, so hopefully they can take that Euros success and carry that arrogance into this World Cup. They’re going out there to win it, and they know now that they’ve got the ability to do exactly that.

That intimidates the opposition – I know it from experience. We used to get it from Germany back in the day when I first started playing internationally, and then against the USA. It is a little bit intimidating, knowing you’re up against a team of champions – winners. It’s challenging both mentally and on the pitch, so hopefully England can use that to their advantage.

But are they in the best space for this tournament right now? I don’t know…the build-up hasn’t been great, there are lots of injuries, there are questions which need answering. It’s a tough group they’re in, as well. It’s one they’ll be expected to walk through on paper, but with the injuries they’ve had, and with the form they’re taking into this World Cup, I don’t know how things are going to go.

There are a lot of questions around what Sarina [Wiegman] believes her strongest XI is. Are players going to be fit? Is Millie Bright going to be back and fully fit to compete at top international level, not just easing herself back into club football? So, while there are lots of positives, there are still a few questions that need answering.

I want to see an England player sipping tea against USA in the World Cup final!

The USA are that confident in their own ability and with that knowledge that they are winners, I don’t think England’s success at last year’s Euros will bother them in the slightest. I don’t think they’ll even blink an eye with regard to what other teams are doing. They’re heading into this tournament to win it, without a question. They’re machine-like in their approach. They’ll bring their best game, they’ll have fun while they’re doing it, they’ll cause some controversy with their celebrations like Alex Morgan did a few years back, sipping tea against England in that semi-final.

But they know what they need to do and they know they’ve got the ability to do it. If England have won something, their mentality will be ‘they only won it because we weren’t taking part’. That’s the kind of mentality the USA team have.

I could see an England player potentially copying that sipping tea celebration if we were to play USA in the final. You’d want it to be quite close to the end of the game, though. you wouldn’t want them to have enough time to get back into the game. But that would be quite fun. I think Georgia Stanway might have enough about her to do it. If Georgia scores a penalty in the 90th minute to beat USA in the World Cup final, she’s got to do the tea celebration… that would be brilliant!

Lack of leaders makes the loss of Ellen White and Jill Scott even more damaging

Jill Scott and Ellen White are two very different characters. Jill, as everyone knows, is the loud, comedic one. The one who lightens the mood if it needs lightening. She’s always around to have fun, she’s always there for a chat and she does have that serious side to her. She can read a room and knows when someone needs an arm around their shoulder. You always know where Jill is. You might not necessarily see her, but you can always hear her, whereas Ellen White is the kind of person who lifts the dressing room in a different way.

She led by example by how she was as a player, how she prepared, how she trained, how she was on the pitch and how she was off the pitch. Everything about Ellen White was the behaviour of an ultimate professional. And that’s the kind of role model you want the younger players to aspire to. ‘If I want to get to that top level, this is the meticulous level of detail I need to put in to be the best.’ She wasn’t necessarily as loud as Jill – although, to be fair, I don’t think anyone was as loud as Jill! But they’re two very experienced players who will be missed in very different ways.

You look at that squad, and how many players have only just been to their first major tournament – without Jill and Ellen, whether they’re on the pitch or not, it’s a different dynamic now. They would be there to bring you down if you were getting too high, and they knew how and when to lift you when you were feeling low. They know what it’s like to lose, they know what it’s like to win. It was important for them to be around this group of players to help them settle into international football and all of the pressures that came with it.

They will be big, big boots to fill – especially with the lack of leadership figures in that dressing room now, either through injury or non-selection. It’s a very different looking changing room to the one we had last summer.