The Lionesses made a losing start to the defence of their trophy after being beaten 2-1 by the French on Saturday (05.07.25) but Hemp says that a lack of match practice wasn't to blame for the team's uncharacteristically bad performance.

The Manchester City forward - who battled to be fit for the tournament after undergoing knee surgery last season - said: "I mean a lot of us have had a big amount of time out and that's obviously been gutting for us.

"I have missed most of the season, but we've also had four or five games to get up to scratch and I think it's no excuse really.

"We're all in this as a team and we've got so much experience on the pitch even though I've been out for seven months, also played six years of my career. It's important to remember that and take confidence from it. Obviously we're going to be a bit rusty but everyone's going to be a bit rusty so we're all in the same boat, I'd say."

England face a group stage exit if they lose to the Netherlands in their next match but Hemp is confident that the team can respond to the pressure after showing some encouraging signs towards the end of their opening game.

She said: "A lot of the time we thrive under pressure. From how we acted in the last 10 minutes of the game, we know what's up for stake and we obviously want to get as far as we can. We are reigning champions and that is important to remember and gain confidence from that.

"I love playing and football matches where we need to win, they're the games you wanna be involved in. So yeah, it's important we take confidence from parts of (Saturday).

"I think the biggest thing for us to just stick together. I think we stuck together as a team (on Saturday) throughout the whole game and into the final stages and that's what we need to take with us."