Steph Houghton's 'worst moment' was Euro squad rejection

Steph Houghton has admitted not being picked for Euro 2022 was one of the “worst moments” of her career.

The 36-year-old retired centre back had fought hard to recover from an Achilles injury to play in what she had expected to be her final international games for England, so it was “massively upsetting” to ultimately be omitted from Sarina Wiegman’s final squad.

She reflected to FourFourTwo magazine: “If you talk about the worst moments of my career, that period was really tough, especially when you’ve got a plan in your head of playing in that Euros and then probably retiring from international football.

“It was delayed a year because of COVID and you think, ‘My God, if that hadn’t happened…

“My Achilles injury was pretty bad, then I came back from that and did it again – I had to have an operation. It was probably a six-month injury that I was trying to rehab in four months, continually going through the plan with Manchester City, England, Sarina and the staff to know if I had a chance of playing.

“Once I got that go-ahead to know that I had a chance of being part of the squad, it was, ‘OK, get your head down, get the best physio, work from 9am to 6pm every single day, sacrifice time with [husband] Stephen’, because all I ever wanted was to represent England at a home Euros.

“I was confident I’d get back, and I did.

“I did everything asked of me – and then you’re told you aren’t going to be part of it.

“You think, ‘I went through all of this, for you not to take me.’ It was massively upsetting.”

While Steph had “mixed emotions” watching the Lionesses go on to win the tournament, she’s subsequently grown to feel proud of the part she had to play on their journey.

Asked how she felt watching the final, she said: “Mixed emotions. I’m only human, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t upset that I wasn’t there. I was frustrated.

“I felt as though I could make a difference in that team.

“But there were so many amazing people I adore in that team, and to see them so happy and for England to finally win a trophy… It’s only since I’ve retired that I’ve looked back and thought, ‘I didn’t physically have my hands on the trophy but I played a huge part in that journey.”