Fran Kirby opened up yesterday about the pressure she faces every time she steps on the pitch to live up to her “mini Messi” moniker.

Kirby has taken the game by storm since excelling at Reading, earning a move to Chelsea and becoming integral to Mark Sampson’s England side.

It was while playing for the national side at last year’s World Cup, during a victory over Mexico in which Kirby scored a brilliant goal, that Sampson likened her to Barcelona and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.