But anger has fueled her too, particularly in the wake of her being dropped by England and left out of the GB squad for the Olympics.
“I’m competitive in everything I do,” she said. “I want to win and I wanted to go to the Olympics. I was stressed by everything, but it lit a fire under me. I wouldn’t feel that way anymore. At least I was the most determined and focused I’d ever been…I play my best football when I’m angry.”
The last few months have cast doubt on that last claim. Mead has looked anything but angry lately and the image of her smiling and dancing, draped in the St. George flag after her hat-trick against Norway, is already one of the defining photos of the tournament.
Her center-forward muscle memory
This is perhaps the biggest reason why Mead is so prolific as a winger. As a child and at her first club Sunderland, Mead was a centre-forward, earning her move to Arsenal in 2017 as one after being the WSL’s top goalscorer in 2015.
At Arsenal, Dutch superstar Vivanne Miedema plays through the middle, so Mead has had to adapt. It took some time to reap the full benefits, but she can rightfully claim to have mastered the intricacies of both functions.
And it’s her versatility that makes her so dangerous. Typical of a Dutch coach, Wiegman likes to switch her attackers, changing positions depending on the situation, as well as confusing defenders.
Mead regularly drives in from the wing and takes goal positions within the area, which has always been taken for granted.