I’ve captained England at the World Cup – and I still can’t quite believe it

The 17-year-old led her country at the Women’s Amputee World Cup finals in Colombia – and is now thought to be the youngest person ever to captain a senior England side at any football World Cup.

Tate – who was born without her left hand and lower left arm – and teammates stormed to the quarter-finals before their dream of lifting the trophy ended – but it has given them the hunger for more such top-level chances in the future.

We featured Tate on sussexworld.co.uk/sport and in the Eastbourne Herald before she left and have caiught up with her again now she is home. Here’s our Q&A with East Sussex’s latest international captain...

Tell us about the overall experience: what was it like representing England at a World Cup - and being named captain?

I still can’t bring to words how amazing representing England at a World Cup for my first international tournament was, let alone being named captain, it's crazy for me to think at 17 I captained an England side on the world stage and is definitely one of my biggest achievements and an unforgettable one at that.

Talk us through the matches and how you feel you did in each game…

Our first match not only made history in many ways, but for the team to stay composed throughout the entire match to win 6-0 against Peru was incredible.

I don't think I actually picked the ball up in this game which is a testament to the team's performance.

Our second match against Haiti was a lot more of a challenge physically for the team. Haiti were very direct and gave us more of a test, we eventually got a goal late in the first half which was a relief and the game ended 1-0 to England – and we were officially through to the quarter-finals.

I didn't play in our third game vs Kenya when we lost 1-0, although it was frustrating for me on the sidelines not being able to help the team.

I could see how much they were trying and it definitely wasn't an easy game for us when playing in 38-degree temperatures, which being British, we are accustomed to!

Ultimately, we were drawn against the USA for our quarter-final match. I was really excited for this match as it was going to be the best game we had so far. The atmosphere around the game itself was exciting and could not even live up to what it was like actually playing on it.

But it was against the USA that the run ended...?

The match itself was very tight, statistically we had more chances on goal in both halves of the game. And the USA's only big chance they had was from a free-kick which I luckily got to on my weaker diving side – it was also during this save I sustained a concussion.

At this point though I didn't realise the severity of the way I hit my head, I played on. The game went on to penalties where we lost 2-1. This was difficult for the team to take as we felt we could have definitely progressed further.

But the team bounced back quickly for a game the next day against Ecuador to get another win to put us in the running for 5th or 6th place.

I sadly wasn't at this match as I was at the hospital but I watched it and was so proud of what the girls achieved.

Our final game was against Ukraine where we won 4-0 and that meant we placed 5th in the world! I couldn't play this game due to my concussion but was so happy for the team to finish on a high.

Tell us more about the concussion you suffered...

As I said, I sustained it in the quarter-final against the USA when attempting a save. During this save I hit my head on one of our defender's crutches on the way down to the ground.

I didn't know how badly I actually hurt my head, and I played on, and actually went on to play through the penalties and saved two!

It was only really when we got back to the hotel when my adrenaline wore off from the match and the pain started kicking in and I realised something was off, mainly the fact that the memories from the match were spotty and actually couldn't remember any of it after hitting my head, including being in the changing room.

I got checked by the medical team and we waited til the morning to see if anything worsened to confirm if I needed to go to hospital which frustratingly I did and was on a taxi within an hour or two.

I was quite upset with this, especially as I was captain and couldn't help my team and had to miss the rest of the tournament. but the team-players and staff- really supported me through this, and I am so thankful.

Were the team disappointed to be knocked out when they were, or just pleased with how far they got?

It was really disappointing to be knocked out, but the team did absolutely everything they could to get as far as we could which showed off when we got to 5th place.

What has been the reaction since you got home from family and friends?

The reaction from friends and family has been great, from touching down at Heathrow, when everyone cheered us through the door, to my friends and teachers at college being as supportive as they have it's been amazing.