Beth Mead on her 'crazy rollercoaster' year: ‘I went out with Jason Sudeikis the other week’

Virgin Radio

28 Jun 2023, 11:23

When England footballer and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Beth Mead joined The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch, she recalled winning the Euros, and spoke about her “incredible” year since then.

Beth was the top goalscorer in the 2022 European Women's Football Championship, hitting six goals as the Lionesses won the tournament, their first international trophy since the 1966 Men's World Cup. She was also named Player of the Tournament and has since been nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or Feminin. Recalling winning the competition, which was played in England, she said: “It's all still quite surreal.”

She continued: “You start off at Old Trafford, the first game in front of a sold-out crowd. We win 1-0, it probably wasn't our best game of the tournament. But then you go into the next game, you think ‘You know what, this is going to be our hardest game in the group’, and then we go and batter Norway 8-0, which was just insane. 

“I even scored a header, so I knew it was a good day because I'm not very good with my head normally!”

The football star went on: “But then you go into a semi-final where we’ve fallen short a lot of times, win 4-0 comfortably and then we know we're going to Wembley to play against Germany.”

England won the tense final 2-1 in extra-time. Beth told Chris: “It’s so English, to go to penalties, isn't it? So the fact that we got it in extra-time was great.” 

Speaking about the celebrations, she added: “There was a lot of partying! I went on a 48-hour bender, most of us did. 

“I ended up on Lorraine and then got told I didn't look great and I thought, ‘Yeah, you're not wrong. I've been on a bender for 48 hours!’”

Regarding the impact that the Euros win had on the domestic game, the Arsenal forward said: “We played at Emirates men's stadium a bit more regularly, which was amazing. Sold it out, had over 60,000 people, I think. It worked out something like we had 250,000 people come and watch us this season for the WSL, which is incredible. 

“It's been a bit of a crazy rollercoaster year, but it's been incredible.”

That rollercoaster saw Beth pick up Sports Personality of the Year. Talking about the famous trophy, she told Chris: “It's a 70-year-old trophy with a lot of incredible sportsmen and women on there. And yeah, it's still surreal that it’s sat there at home. I mean, Princess Anne won that award!

“It's sat right next to the TV cabinet. So when I get bored of what's on TV, I can look at my Sports Personality of the Year Award.”

When it comes to the big names that have congratulated her on the Euros win, Beth said: “I actually went out with Jason Sudeikis the other week for some drinks. 

“He was buzzing… He's quite good friends with [Lioness] Leah Williamson. So he came out and had a few drinks with us and congratulated us.”

Beth, unfortunately, won’t be part of England’s World Cup campaign in Australia next month, due to injury, but she said of her teammates: “I have every faith in them… I know how hard they’re working.”

She added: “I'll give them all a kick up the bum just before they go!”

Beth Mead’s debut children’s book, Roar: A Guide to Dreaming Big and Playing the Sport You Love, is out now. 

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.