Earps' World Cup final heroics sparks demand for Nike to sell her shirt

Mary Earps became the nation's sweetheart after saving a penalty to keep the Lionesses in the World Cup final.

And her heroic stop prompted a cry from fans to demand sportswear giant Nike sell replicas of her shirt after months of refusals because of concerns over profits.

It was called for again after the star - hailed the best female goalkeeper in the world - was awarded the coveted Golden Glove trophy for top goalie of the tournament.

Nike - whose motto is 'Just Do It' - made a half-hearted attempt to calm the situation last night by saying it was 'working towards solutions for future tournaments'. But that wasn't before Ms Earps, 30, won the support of David Beckham today.

The former England men's captain took a swipe at the sportswear brand by putting her at the forefront of a social media video to cheer the Lionesses on. He placed a photograph of her aged 12 in the emotional video alongside the music from Hope FC's Make Me A Lioness which he shared on Instagram.

Friends of Beckham told the Mail he did it intentionally to make the point that their decision to not sell the shirts was 'not the right one'. One source said: 'What are young girls going to think? Mary has been a superstar, she's England's goalkeeper but she is also the best in the world.

'David noticed that and wanted to make the point and support Mary. Today Mary became not just a national treasure but a global star. She deserves to have her shirt sold.'

Ms Earps became the stand out star of the match after she saved Jennifer Hermoso's penalty to keep England in the final with a chance of winning.

A clip of her celebrating her phenomenal save was shared millions of times on X, formerly Twitter, and was trending for more than three hours.

Her rise to fame now piles more pressure on Nike to produce replicas of her shirt.

It was also speculated last night that Ms Earps could be in line to become an ambassador of Nike's rival Adidas.

Fans took to X to share their disgust at not being able to buy the shirt. One said: 'Let's get Mary Earps shirts in the shops for our girls #earpsshirts.'

Another wrote: 'Mary Earps has just saved a penalty in a World Cup final and you STILL can't buy her shirt. It doesn't get more glorious than that as a keeper and it'll inspire so many. Sort it out Nike.'

Last Thursday Nike was accused of leaving Ms Earps out of their Instagram post to congratulate the Lionesses because she criticised them for not stocking replicas of her shirt.

The message, which was put up on the social media platform after their 3-1 win over Australia on Wednesday, said: 'Pure energy. Just one game separates the pack from the title.'

While the picture included the likes of Chloe Kelly, Georgia Stanway and Lauren James, Ms Earps was noticeably absent.

Fans now believe that bosses at Nike left her out because she criticised them over its 'shameful' snub towards her.

Last month Ms Earps expressed her dismay over the ' hurtful' decision not to put her replica shirt on sale ahead of the World Cup.