Leah Williamson embracing responsibility of leading hosts England at Euro 2022

Leah Williamson says she feels a sense of “responsibility rather than pressure” as she prepares to captain England at a home Euros.

The 25-year-old has also spoken about how she has been taking note of the behaviour of other captains, including England cricket skipper Ben Stokes.

Having been given the armband by boss Sarina Wiegman in a number of games through the season in the absence of the injured Steph Houghton, Williamson was then confirmed as Lionesses captain for this summer’s Euros in April.

She heads into the showpiece with her previous senior major tournament experience featuring one substitute appearance at the 2019 World Cup in France, as well as playing three times for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

And when asked about the pressure of going from that brief World Cup cameo to the current situation, the Arsenal defender said: “It’s funny. I think on paper it looks like a pressurised situation, but I don’t feel that at the minute. I’m still finding my way with it.

“I’m not pretending to know all the answers – maybe it’s because I’m not pretending to know the answers, or to be the most ready I’ve ever been. I’ve got processes in place I’ve been using for the last however long in my career for dealing with pressure and things like that.

“It’s not that I’ve been put on a pedestal, I’m just the same, it’s just I have this extra responsibility. And I take it more as a responsibility rather than pressure.

“I do feel like I would have given anything to get on the pitch (with England), so I don’t intend to waste a second now not enjoying it.

“The influence all the people I’ve played under has had on me is quite a nice mix. I’ve had leaders on the pitch, off the pitch, and I’ve had quite a lot of