ENGLAND DEFENDER LAURA Bassett is still devastated following her own goal at the Women’s World Cup.
Bassett’s own goal in additional time on Wednesday saw England suffer a 2-1 loss to Japan in the semi-finals.
It was a heartbreaking loss for England, and even more so for the 31-year-old Bassett.
She told the BBC she felt “heartbroken” and “devastated” and is “still feeling all the emotions” she did following the loss.
“I couldn’t breathe,” Bassett said on Friday.
“My heart was in my chest and I just wanted to the ground to open up and swallow me into it.
“I just wanted to cry and be on my own, bury my head, if you like.”
Bassett described the loss to Japan as “cruel” and said it was difficult for her to see her countrywomen.
“That’s the hardest thing for me,” she said. “Everyone believed we could do it. To go out the way we did is just hard.
“I’d change it in a heartbeat if I could.”
The end of the game is “a blur” to Bassett, but her agony was softened when she was greeted by both her brother and boyfriend on the pitch.
Bassett is gracious for the support she has received from her team-mates and fans, but wishes people knew her name for “being a hero for lifting the World Cup” or not at all.
“I’d prefer no one to know my name,” she said.
“We’re sports professionals at an elite level. We know there are extremely high highs and extremely low lows.
“Some have had a few setbacks, but we just need to find the courage and belief to rally through, get on and focus forward.”
England will face Germany on Saturday in the third-place match.
While it is not the match England want to play in, Bassett is grateful to have “another game.”
“We’ve worked very hard as a team to overcome this,” Bassett said.
“Our resilience to overcome setbacks in the past, we’ve done that time and time again. We’re ready and we’re looking forward to getting out on the pitch because that’s what we do best.
“We’ve created history this tournament and we’ve still got a little bit to create.”
