Jess Carter will have ‘no nerves’ at World Cup final

“I’m just Jess,” says Jess Carter, and pretty much everyone who has ever met her would nod in agreement were they here on the Central Coast of New South Wales. She has been asked about potential commercial deals if England win the World Cup, and it’s fair to say that Carter has not given it much thought.

To say that Carter is laid back is an understatement; any more and she would be horizontal.

When the question lands as to how her life will change if she is bestowed with the honour of world champion, again, she is quizzical that it might change at all: “I’m going to go home to my apartment, really, and I don’t know, just chill.” And how did she celebrate the semi-final win? “I just put my headphones back in and chilled and wanted to get some sleep.”

It would be easy to misinterpret all this as a lack of desire or drive. Certainly it is atypical. Carter found herself back on the bench for England’s second group game against Denmark having made her World Cup debut days before, and says that she was just happy to have played at all.

Her place in the team here feels a little circumstantial; technically, she is only playing so many minutes at this tournament because of Leah Williamson And The One With The ACL.

Perhaps the problem lies with us. There is such mass desperation to be a professional footballer, to represent your country, to play in the World Cup, that we expect the game’s stars to wear that desperation on their sleeve. Witness a player who is able to complete that journey but not visibly live every second of it, and we misdiagnose.

Carter’s composure is a vital component of this squad. “I think I chat with everyone, and that’s something that a lot of the girls say is that I am super chill,” she says.

“I’ve had a couple of people feed back to say that it’s a really nice aura to be around.”

How could that not be helpful, to have a player who copes with being called up and dropped and called up again and treats each of them the same?

Who would not want a teammate that can treat disaster and triumph as imposters both the same?

If there have been problems in the past, a stark learning curve and perhaps even moments of severe self-reflection, we can be sure that Carter has overcome those psychological hurdles because her presence here is emphatic evidence.

Sarina Wiegman doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but she’s less patient still with half-commitment. England’s manager has trusted Carter in the biggest games of her life. Never for a second did she waver.

From Birmingham prodigy to Chelsea to England dependable, Carter has grown and learnt on the job. She has made mistakes – who hasn’t? She has come back stronger and harder and faster and she is better as a result. She is versatile, patient and willing.

And if she is indeed “super chill”, to use her own phrase, a maiden World Cup final is the best time for tranquillity. World Cup nerves – what do you think?

“I won’t have nerves” Carter says, smiling.

“It’s football. I’m not really a nervous person. I understand and know from the outside, it’s the World Cup final, your biggest moment. I play my best when I’m super calm. At the end of the day, it’s just a game of football.” She might be the only one in the squad who seriously believes that.