Ellie Carpenter: the joy from her first international goal

Carpenter has been a fixture at full back for so long that it’s hard to believe that she is still only 20.

She plays the game with such determination and aggression that it can be forgotten how much she seems to genuinely love the game, nowhere is this more apparent than her first international goal.

The goal itself is a near-post header and she’s certain to score more spectacular ones in her career, (her first goal for Portland is a perfect display of her game-sense and pace) but the celebrations after her goal against China in 2017 look like that of somebody who can’t quite believe they’ve just achieved a lifelong dream.

The jubilation was infectious and as the whole team celebrated with her and it’s a moment that showed football is both a passion and a full-time profession.