Nikita Parris

It was never a case of male and female when I was growing up. I played with my cousins, my friends. From a young age, I played on the local streets, just with my neighbours. The majority would be boys, but a couple would be girls, so I never really thought too hard about it.

There weren't any opportunities to be a professional women's player until I was 16 and the WSL was formed.

I'm proud to say that my sister was the first female boxer in the Olympics. That's history. She made her mark. And that's what you want to do in any sport.

You have to respect America for respecting the pioneers of the game. That's important. We do that a lot in our game in England. What they've done for women's football across the world is massive.

I really wanted to put myself out of my comfort zone, and that meant leaving England and really changing culture and different ideas and philosophies in a club environment.

I was a natural talent, a raw talent. Then I came to Manchester City, and I learned philosophies.

You've got to have dedication because there's a lot of sacrifice which goes into it - a lot of your time is minimal with friends and family, especially in the past 10 years.

Me and fellow scouser Toni Duggan are a double act. We are always pre-planning some sort of practical joke.

Playing at the Women's World Cup is my long-term goal and, hopefully, I can contribute to winning a medal.

The biggest thing I got from my sister's career was never to give up. She had so many ups and downs throughout her career. Injuries and big injuries - ACLs. And she never gave up; she always came back fighting.

Scoring a goal for England is special. Scoring in a World Cup is even more special.

If you don't have competition in a squad, you can have complacency - and, if you have complacency, you won't win.