Was Mary Earps motivated by England snub? Man Utd goalkeeper labelled 'a realist' after heroics in FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea as Marc Skinner hails her 'beautiful character'

The European Championship winner and World Cup finalist was surprisingly dropped to the bench by the Lionesses for their Euro 2025 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. On the back of that international disappointment, Earps was in domestic action for United against Chelsea on Sunday.

She played a starring role for the Red Devils as they claimed a 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win, producing one stunning save to keep out Lionesses team-mate Lauren James, and another shot at major silverware has now been lined up. Earps may have wanted to offer a reminder to Sarina Wiegman of her worth in that contest, but Skinner says such thoughts will never dominate for a proven winner.

United’s head coach told reporters when asked if England provided added motivation for his first-choice goalkeeper: “I don't think Mary is motivated by doing that. I think Mary is motivated by being the very best of herself. She's an incredibly beautiful character Mary, a great character, and with great characters comes an ability to do things differently. Mary has this really unique way of resetting from bad moments. I'm not saying that was a bad moment for her because she is a realist, but to come out and to make that save, and there's loads of others. The ones where she positions herself right, the ball might have gone into her but she positions herself right for them. We talk about the magnificent save but I thought she was incredible today. Her kicking, her distances on her kicking were fantastic. She's a big part of why we've won the game today but also the team in front of her helped her. The beauty of Mary is that she's not motivated by proving others wrong. She's motivated by herself.”

Earps is yet to land a major honour with United, having joined them in 2019 and finished as a runner-up in the FA Cup last season. That trophy is now back within reach, with the Red Devils set to face Tottenham in the 2024 final at Wembley on May 12.