"I couldn't breathe after own goal" says Bassett at FIFA Women's World Cup

The Lionesses lost 2-1 to Japan in their semi-final after defender Bassett, 31-years-old, scored right at the end of the match.

 says she is "heartbroken" at scoring the injury-time own goal that 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 said.

She has felt so emotional that she has been unable to speak to her parents since the goal.
Nevertheless, head coach Mark Sampson said that Bassett - who he described as a "hero" - will start in England's third-place play-off against Germany in Edmonton on Saturday, which kicks off at 21:00 BST.

"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," Bassett told BBC Sport.
The defender briefly thought the ball had not crossed the line after hitting the underside of the bar.

"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."

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"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."
Bassett said she has been inundated with messages of support, with #proudofbassett trending on Twitter following the match.
She paid tribute to her team-mates, Sampson and his staff, saying:

 "I know the long hours Mark's staff have worked and the commitment they have given to this dream and to us as players. They have been there for me so I want to thank them."