Bassett: I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me

England defender, Laura Bassett, said she was so embarrassed after finding the back of her team’s net against Japan that she wished she could disappear from the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

The Lionesses lost 2-1 to the reigning champions in their semi-final after Bassett scored right at the end.

The Notts County defender is still heartbroken 48 hours after her goal ended England hopes of winning the Women’s World Cup in Canada.

“I couldn’t breathe, my heart was out my chest and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me,” she told BBC Sport.

Mark Sampson, England’s coach, said that Bassett – who he described as a “hero” – will start in England’s third-place play-off against Germany in Edmonton on Saturday. But the player said she would rather be anonymous while doing her thing.

“I would prefer [skipper] Steph Houghton and Mark to be heroes for lifting the World Cup, I’d prefer no-one to know my name to be honest,” she said.

The 31-year-old spoke about the talking point in England’s first Women’s World Cup semi-final.

“My intention was to get a touch on the ball, and watching it hit the crossbar, there was a point when Steph cleared it that I thought maybe it hadn’t gone in,” she said.

“But the referee’s watch vibrated and gave it as a goal.

“After the game, I was heartbroken, devastated, just uncontrollable, emotional. For those people who know me and call me a swinging brick and say I lack emotion, nine out of 10 times I’d agree with that, but something took over and I was out of control.

“I wanted to get out of there. I wanted to cry and be on my own and bury my head because one thing we have shown [in this tournament] is we will keep fighting and won’t give up.

“But we didn’t have time to show that and pull it back. It was so, so cruel.

“It was all a blur to be honest. I looked around and saw my boyfriend, and that just set me off again.

“I haven’t been able to speak to my mum and dad over FaceTime yet because they will just set me off crying. I’ve messaged them and I know they are so proud but I think about that moment and would do anything to change it.

“The hardest thing is looking at other people who committed themselves to this team.

“Everyone believed for the first time in a long time that England could do it.”