Georgia Stanway pauses for a moment. “I’m not afraid to say it,” she says, almost to herself as much as to anyone in the room. It’s her own short affirmation that this, the eve of a World Cup semi-final against the tournament co-hosts Australia, is the right time to open up on how she has dealt with problems in the past and now knows how to remain calm.
“Once or twice a week, I speak with a mentor and that’s something that I’ve done for a few years now. I’m not afraid to say it.” Then the pause. “I went through a time at [Manchester] City where it was a little bit up and down in terms of my mentality, my position. Everything was changing, and that person was my go-to in terms of getting clarity on my position [and] what I wanted to achieve in that season.”
It was at the start of the 2020-21 season and the postponed Tokyo Olympics was a year away. “My goal was to get to the Olympics,” says the Bayern Munich midfielder. “I set out a plan at the start and was like: ‘This is what I want to do, this is what I want to achieve.’ Whether it be goals, assists, whether it be making sure my house is tidy on a weekly basis – just random things that seem like successes.
“I managed to achieve that goal and I just thought I would carry it on from then. This tournament, I’ve spoken to my person in the evening before [each] game. That just allows me to process the information that we’ve got from England, know the work is done and just go out there and play my game.”
Her mentor is the former Manchester United academy graduate, Luke Chadwick. “He’s an ex-player at United and he went through his battles as a player and I was facing, not similar battles, but I was facing my individual battles at Manchester City,” says Stanway. “He was somebody who had recently joined my agency and hoped to help mentor players and hopefully put people on the right path, making sure that they don’t experience what he did, or if they do experience it, that he can say: ‘This is what helped me.’”
Chadwick has been open about how much his mental health suffered when he was bullied over the way he looked on They Think It’s All Over when he was in his late teens. “He’s honestly the best guy and he cares for absolutely everybody,” says Stanway. “The most important thing is that he removes himself from any equation, and he’s just so focused on making sure that he improves the individual and wants them to be the utmost successful individual as a player and as a person.”
Having someone to advise her that sits outside of her employers, for club or country, has been hugely important. “It’s just little things,” she says. “You rely on the good luck message before the game, and he never fails. Always after a game, he’s the first one to say something positive and then: ‘Let me know when you want to talk.’ It’s always on my terms, which is so understanding as well.”
Stanway’s focus has been an effort to find consistency in her performances after swapping the WSL for the Frauen-Bundesliga. “I want to become a consistent player in my technical actions, in getting fewer yellow cards – as stupid as it sounds – and just being more consistently involved in actions. So goals, assists, being a forward player that constantly contributes in creative actions. Yes, just little things like that,” she says.
“The numbers don’t lie. I am big on numbers. I could come away from a game thinking I’ve not done so great or I didn’t feel too good, but then the numbers could tell me something different. I could come away from the game feeling on top of the world and then my mentor could bring me back down to earth, and say: ‘Oh, no, your passing was shocking today.’
“It’s just about staying level and being consistent in the way I am as a person and on the field. I think Bayern have massively helped that because I’ve been able to play since the Euros in a consistent position. I’ve been able to make that position my own, and then I come to England and get freedom.”
Having picked up a yellow card in England’s opening 1-0 victory against Haiti, Stanway has had to go four games without collecting another to ensure she avoids suspension. “I’m so relieved about that,” she says with a laugh. “I thought I’d ruined it for myself in the last game but thankfully the referee was on my side.”
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She is referring to a mistimed challenge on the Colombian star Linda Caicedo, where she was lucky not to go in the book. “I went straight up to the ref and said: ‘Ref, I’m so sorry’ and she was like: ‘It’s OK!’ So I just ran off as fast as I could.”
Having to be “disciplined Georgia” may have helped her in the long run, she adds. “Over the last four games I’ve just picked and chosen when I do need to go for it and when I don’t. That’s something I’ve definitely learned over the last four games. Do I need to go for the ball if there’s only like a 10 or 20% chance of winning it? And can I just be a little bit more, what’s the word … sensible.”
Against Australia, she can play without that pressure being quite so acute and is focused on spoiling the co-hosts’ party. “Everyone we speak to says: ‘Good luck until you play Australia.’ So, we’re kind of feeling that a little bit now but that’s what you want, the backing for the hosts of the tournament.
“You want everybody to get behind you like we had at the Euros,” she adds. “We wanted everyone to back England and nobody to support anybody else. I imagine the Australians are doing the same.”
A Woman’s Game by Suzanne Wrack (Guardian Faber Publishing, £9.99). To support The Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.