Harding Heating Up Again

Chris Brookes interviews Wales forward Natasha Harding, freshly arrived at Reading and looking ahead to a World Cup qualifier against England. Reviewing an eighth-place finish at the Cyprus Cup, she argues the results read worse than the performances, noting Wales created more chances than higher-ranked Switzerland and calling the 3-0 loss to Italy an anomaly. Harding recalls a 4-0 defeat by England in 2014 as a lesson in treating the fixture as a football game rather than an occasion. She describes how a 2015 move to Manchester City put her under the magnifying glass and lifted her profile as a Welsh player in an English league, the confidence knock of an unexpected departure to Liverpool, and how a 9am phone call made her a Liverpool player by half past four. She praises Reading’s ambition and her fans’ loyalty.