Arsenal’s Danielle Carter keen to impress England boss Mark Sampson

Danielle Carter made her England debut last year, against Estonia in the Euro 2017 qualifying match. She scored a hat-trick. But, she has not been called up again since.

It would be understandable if she’d sulked. Instead, she kept her head down, worked hard and carried on scoring goals – including a most spectacular one on the biggest stage of all, the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

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Lots of players claim not to remember big moments like that, the power of adrenaline pushing them through yet blurring their memories.

However, Carter remembers every single second, “It’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.

“To win it, to reclaim the FA Cup was amazing, in front of our friends and family.”

Even with the challenges of the Women’s Super League season, with fixtures scheduled so inconsistently, Carter has maintained her form, with six goals in her 12 games so far this season.

Now she’s back in contention for an England spot, and joined up with the recent squad camp at Bisham Abbey at St George’s Park. She’s keen to keep herself in coach Mark Sampson’s thoughts in the run-up to next summer’s Euros.

“There’s such a variety of a pool of players now – you just need to showcase what you can do and hopefully the manager will pick you,” Carter added pragmatically.

Chelsea’s Hannah Blunder attempts to tackle Arsenal’s Carter – Photo: Charlotte Wilson / Offside.

Obviously, she wants to make it to the final squad, but knows that it isn’t as simple as that.

“Ultimately that’s the aim, but I’ve got to be involved in any trip leading up to that one,” she said.

Carter is a player who clearly has a plan, and she happily admits to it.

“You have to be like that otherwise you don’t put in the work and can’t really expect to be involved in what you dream of,” she explained.

“It’s the idea that you need to stand the best chance of being involved in what you ultimately want to be a part of.”

*Carrie Dunn is SHOOT’s Women’s Football correspondent. Her book ‘The Roar of the Lionesses: Women’s Football in England’ is out now – available in all good bookshops.*