Nikita Parris

Athlete

137 Quotes

To be honest, I don't feel pressure. I honestly don't feel pressure.

As a young kid, you never really understand what it takes to be a footballer: what it's like after you've won or what the changing room is like after a loss, or, as an individual, have you played a good game? Have you played a bad game?

Being the best is:applying yourself to your potential, putting out the best version of yourself.

That first game was so hyped up, and it was obviously my first experience of a crowd in a World Cup. When I first walked out and heard the national anthem, it was just an unreal experience. I didn't expect a crowd like that.

I'm the one who is always bantering. Millie Bright and Rach Daly are pretty bad. Jill Scott is up there, too, but I'm probably the one who initiates it all, and people come back at me.

On an odd occasion, you'll still find me shouting at referees when I've become increasingly frustrated, but I've tried to control my temper.

I recently started my own NP17 Academy within Liverpool Community College, which gives 16-19-year-old girls an opportunity to embark on a sports career, whether it be as a coach, player, physio, or nutritionist.

Nobody's going to give you the World Cup; nobody's going to give you an easy game - not Scotland, not Argentina, not Japan, and not whoever we get going forward.

The biggest thing I got from my sister's career was never to give up. She had so many ups and downs throughout her career. Injuries and big injuries - ACLs. And she never gave up; she always came back fighting.

You've got to have dedication because there's a lot of sacrifice which goes into it - a lot of your time is minimal with friends and family, especially in the past 10 years.

Scoring a goal for England is special. Scoring in a World Cup is even more special.

I just want to be at the best place possible to ensure that I really kick on in my career, that I constantly have challenges, because in football, you don't have long. It's easy to become complacent when game time comes so easily, and you're doing so well.

From the age of seven, I knew I wanted to play football - I didn't think about it in a professional sense in terms of making money from it; it was more about the social aspect of being with my friends and losing myself in the sport.

I've never really spoken French. I didn't do French lessons at school, so I'm starting from scratch.

Let's build women's football from the bottom before we get to the top; it's not about building from the top to get to the bottom. We can talk about the Etihad and Man United's ground, the Theatre of Dreams, in a few years' time. Let's fill the Academy Stadiums, the Kingsmeadows, first of all.

To me, it's just another game of football - 11 players, a grass pitch. Regardless what shirt I have on, it's important you win the game, and I'm competitive as anyone, and I want to win every game, whether it's a Sunday league game, a five-a-side tournament, or a World Cup qualifier.

It was never a case of male and female when I was growing up. I played with my cousins, my friends. From a young age, I played on the local streets, just with my neighbours. The majority would be boys, but a couple would be girls, so I never really thought too hard about it.

Nobody's going to give you the World Cup; nobody's going to give you an easy game - not Scotland, not Argentina, not Japan, and not whoever we get going forward.

Every time I step onto the pitch for England, I feel great pride. I want to keep working hard to stay in the starting XI and push on to win trophies.

You have to respect America for respecting the pioneers of the game. That's important. We do that a lot in our game in England. What they've done for women's football across the world is massive.

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