Steph Houghton was described as “one of the most inspiring English players of this generation”, and the former Lionesses captain was honored in an escape rite at Wembley.
The 36-year-old was introduced to the community ahead of England directly in the tone of Friday’s friendly against Germany.
Houghton earned 121 caps for England over 14 seasons and participated in 3 International Cups and two EU Championships.
“To captain the team for as long as she did it and for the times she did it, she really stepped up,” Nikita Parris, England’s striker in 71 caps, told BBC Game.
“At the moment we play regular matches in big stadiums like Wembley, but before this, people like Steph, Fara Williams and Jill Scott would come in and fight for us to be on these stages.
“Without their hard work and sacrifice, we would not be able to play games in stadiums like this in front of 90,000 spectators to win a European Championship at home.”
Parris, who has not been included in an England squad since November 2022, was part of the BBC Radio 5 Live coverage team at Wembley.
He played with Houghton for Manchester City and England and praised the defensive stalwart for his leadership qualities.
“As a gentle player coming up, she gave me advice and put her arm around my shoulder, but also kicked me in the butt when necessary,” Parris said.
“We’ve been through ups and downs with the national team. Now everything is up, but then it wasn’t. It was the players who showed their love and what it takes to be an England team.” world.”
Houghton retired at the end of last season and had not played for his country since 2021.
She captained England and won the bronze medal at the 2015 International Cup in Canada before reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2017 and the 2019 International Cup.
