Siobhan Chamberlain: I thought I was going to give birth at Wembley during Lionesses’ Euros win!

In the third part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain looks back on her career and relives the Lionesses’ heartbreaking 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat to Japan.

Chamberlain has already talked about England’s World Cup prospects and discussed her thoughts on social media and former Lionesses manager Phil Neville.

I thought I was going to give birth inside Wembley during Euros win!

I was lucky enough to be at Wembley for the Euros final last year. I was sat in one of the boxes, watching the game, eight months pregnant. I was full of emotion and hormones, it was a boiling hot day and it had gone to extra-time. I was sat there with my little fan thinking ‘I can’t take much more of this’. It was just so intense. It was one of the best games I’ve ever been to, across men’s and women’s football. The atmosphere was incredible, it was a sell-out crowd, so the anticipation was all around you. Then when [Alexandra] Popp came out to warm-up, but was ruled out through injury before kick-off, you just felt like everything was leaning in England’s favour.

When it went to extra-time I genuinely felt like I was going to give birth right there inside Wembley Stadium! It was quite a scary moment because I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time, so I really couldn’t take much more of the tension and drama. But thankfully I didn’t, we lasted the course so it was all good.

It was just such an emotional moment, though, when the final whistle went and we were crowned champions. Watching them lift the trophy, it’s something I’ll always remember. All former players that were there on that day, who’ve been a part of it, who’ve played their role and watched the growth… I couldn’t help but look around at them all, knowing how much it meant to them, as it meant to those on the pitch, and to myself.

Jill Scott’s iconic image v Germany

On the pitch, yes, that’s exactly the type of person Jill [Scott] is. I think that’s the thing about so many players. There’s a massive difference between us on and off the pitch. When you cross that white line, something just takes over you and your focus, your mentality and your attitude…it’s all completely different. It’s like you’ve been set free to be the person you want to be, and do whatever it takes to win.

Off the pitch, I’m sure everyone has seen how lovely she is. She’s fun, she’s hilarious. What you see from her really is what you get, and people have seen that. There’s no hiding on a show like I’m A Celebrity. People see you constantly, and she’s definitely not the kind of person who’d tell someone to “f*** off, you f****** p****!” outside of that football environment! But, if you’re her, and you’re given a job to go on for the last few minutes and disrupt Germany, don’t let them get back into the game…then you do whatever it takes to achieve that – and that’s exactly what she did!

The weird circumstances around my proudest moment for England

My proudest moment in an England shirt was probably at the  2015 World Cup, coming on in the quarter-final against Canada under really weird circumstances. So, it was the fifth major tournament that I’d been to, but I’d never stepped onto the pitch. I’d played for them a few times, but never in a tournament. This was 55 minutes in, and KB [Karen Bardsley] got something in her eye. I think it was a bit of muck from the artificial turf, so I was coming on, against Canada, the host nation, in Vancouver, where I played for a brief period a few years prior, in the quarter-final of a World Cup – and then for us to go on and qualify for the semis for the first time ever, it was all just incredible.

It wasn’t an immediate injury and decision, so I did have a little bit of time to prepare. I knew in the first half that there had been some irritation in KB’s eye, so that meant I could have a bit more of a vigorous warm-up at half-time. I’d gone into that tournament wanting to play, so I knew that I’d done everything I needed to do to prepare for the moment I was eventually called upon. That’s such an important part of tournament football. Every player needs to understand their role and prepare themselves as best they can, because you could be called upon at any moment. For me, it was a ‘this is my moment’ scenario.

I remember being booed by the home supporters, because apparently I was time-wasting. As a goalkeeper, you can’t be forced onto the pitch, whereas if you’re an outfield player, they could just start the game without you. So people are trying to give me my gloves and I’m like “it’s fine, just chill; they can’t start without me”. Everyone was like ‘you were the most calm and relaxed person in that stadium’, while everyone else was fretting. But I just thought it was pointless me being stressed and rushing on – that’s not exactly a good look!

After we won that game, the first person I called was my husband. Funnily enough, it was the one game in the entire tournament that not a single member of my family was there to watch. There was someone at every other game except for that one. The conversation with him was just brilliant, though. It’s all a bit of a blur now, but what I do remember loving was the fact that I could have an interview about football… because up until that point, all of the media I’d done was just about how my husband was back at home planning our wedding, because we were getting married in December. So after that game against Canada, I just said it was great to talk about something other than the wedding my husband was supposed to be planning back at home!

KB had had a good tournament up to that point, so it wasn’t like she was being replaced for playing badly. So I knew that if she was fit, she would have played the in the semis against Japan. It’s something that I learned as I went through my career… only worry about the things that you control. Of course, I’d have loved to have played in that semi-final, but it wasn’t my choice, and so all I could do was stay prepared in case I was needed.

What it’s like to lose a World Cup semi-final

And then, of course, we come up against Japan in the semis. They were the holders, having won in 2011, so they were the favourites on paper. We were never expected to do well in that tournament. We went into it knowing we had belief in ourselves, but to eventually come out with a bronze medal was above all of our expectations.

It’s always hard after matches, because there’s so much that goes on. Some of us are taken off for drug tests, some of us have media responsibilities, so there’s never really a proper debrief straight after in the changing rooms, because we’re all heading off in different directions. That’s why you normally see everyone gathering in a big huddle on the pitch straight after the full-time whistle, because that’s the only chance we’ve got to be together.

But we didn’t have the chance to do that after the Japan game, because that spider cam was coming down in everyone’s faces. I remember all of us were pushing the camera away. Now’s not the time, spider cam! It’s understandable from a media perspective; they’ve paid so much money, they want to get the side crying on the pitch at the end! But the whole thing was just tough for us to take. It actually felt a bit like a funeral. I just felt sick inside, and everything was just numb. It was horrible, because we were so close, and then that’s it, your journey is over.

We knew we were capable of beating Japan, but we also knew that, technically, they were a brilliant side. So the way it happened, in that final minute, that heart-breaking own goal, it’s just the worst feeling in football. Especially for Laura Bassett. But, it meant we had the opportunity to finally beat Germany for the first time, and for a medal, too.

You see it so many times in bronze medal matches, fans will always question the point of them. We cared about that match. There aren’t many people wh have got a medal from a World Cup, and, yes, we’d rather it was silver, or gold. But a bronze medal is a pretty cool thing to take home from a World Cup, in my opinion. For us, that game mattered a lot.

Life after football

Of course, I’d have loved for women’s football to have been at the level that it is now when I was playing. It’s taken so many strides – even over the last 12 months – over the last few years, and it’s been brilliant to see. For me, I retired when I had my first daughter. She was born six weeks before Covid, so that made it quite a clean break for me and football. Everyone was forced into their bubbles, and so I couldn’t just go and be a part of things, or do bits and pieces, because there was nothing for me to do. And I think that made it easier for me to handle.

I always wanted to come back and play after I’d had my first child, one, because I’m highly competitive and I wanted to prove to myself that I could. And, secondly, I wanted her to watch me play. But then, with Covid, and everything else that came with it, the circumstances just weren’t right for me.

I’d never imagined doing the punditry side of things, but I kind of fell into it with MUTV while I was pregnant and I absolutely love it now. Commentary, punditry, interviewing players…it’s all been great fun.

It wouldn’t be right for me to say I have any regrets from my career. It’s something I’m always asked, but I just think if you regret something, then that thing would have changed your entire pathway, and then you might not have ended up where you are today. And I’m so happy with where I am now.

There are things that didn’t go well in my career, and there are things that went brilliantly for me, and all of the choices that I’ve made have led me onto this path. I’m happily married with a great husband, I’ve got two beautiful children, I’ve got medals from my career, I played for England 50 times, and I’m enjoying everything I’m doing now. Look, if you’d have said “would you like to still be playing, and earning a hell of a lot more money than you did when you were playing?” then, yes, of course. But I’ve absolutely loved my journey.