NIKITA PARRIS

Toxeth made me who I am today - it is a great area.

Our keeper, Karen Bardsley, stakes out any penalty, any free-kick, any corner. KB knows the detail of how the person will take it.

To me, it's just another game of football - 11 players, a grass pitch. Regardless what shirt I have on, it's important you win the game, and I'm competitive as anyone, and I want to win every game, whether it's a Sunday league game, a five-a-side tournament, or a World Cup qualifier.

I have a niece now, and it makes me want to be better for her, just to show that there's a big wide world outside Toxteth, and you can imprint yourself in any one of those places as long as you do the hard work and have the desire.

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

I do a bit of boxing in the off-season to stay fit - it's a different kind of fitness.

Completing my degree in Sports Development at Liverpool's John Moores University while being full-time at Manchester City is one of my greatest achievements.

I go home every day, and my mum still lives in the same house. It's not one of the most affluent areas of Liverpool - some may say it's deprived - but we have an abundance of love and support.

There are prime examples - me, Natasha Jonas, Tony Bellew, Toni Duggan - who have come from areas around Liverpool that haven't been the wealthiest. But we've also been determined to get out and then to give back.

Once I started playing as a striker, I'd say I looked up to Julie Fleeting and Thierry Henry.

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.

Let's build women's football from the bottom before we get to the top; it's not about building from the top to get to the bottom. We can talk about the Etihad and Man United's ground, the Theatre of Dreams, in a few years' time. Let's fill the Academy Stadiums, the Kingsmeadows, first of all.

There was always sibling rivalry. Tennis, football, boxing, whatever - you always want to come out on top of big sis.

When I step up to that penalty spot, I know the consequences. They're the same whether I miss the first, second, third - or the 10th - it will be the same.

I knew from a young age what I wanted to do, but that's not the case for everyone. Some go through different paths to reach their destination.

Being the best is:applying yourself to your potential, putting out the best version of yourself.

I grew up in an area of inner-city Liverpool. There were plenty of opportunities but also plenty of challenges - you could go down the right or wrong path, depending on one moment.

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

Opportunities for young girls, like young boys, to go into academies from a young age does happen now in England, but it doesn't happen globally.

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.

Always stay in a happy medium in sport, because you never know what's around the corner.

You've got to be fit to box. In football, if you need a breather, your team-mate can take over. There's no one in the ring to help out.

Ever since I was kid, I dreamed of playing for England.

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

When Olympique Lyon come in for you, it's not a team you turn down.