LAUREN HEMP wants to accelerate England’s bid for World Cup glory after swapping speed tips with Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt.
And the pacy forward, 22, warns the Lionesses will battle hard to stop Pernille Harder when they take on Denmark in Group D on Friday.
Hemp is training at the ground where eight-time Olympic gold medal winner Bolt spent eight weeks playing for Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners.
Back in March the Jamaican sprint king was in the crowd at the Academy Stadium when Hemp netted a goal that sealed a 2-0 City win against Chelsea in the WSL.
Her standout display prompted Bolt to ask for her shirt after the game.
And the England forward will be hoping to put in a similar shift when Sarina Wiegman’s aces face their European rivals at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
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On whether she chatted about speed tactics with Bolt during their meeting, Hemp said: “Well, he actually asked for my shirt so you’ll have to ask him if he got any tips!
“It was amazing meeting him and I think we shared some speed tactics which I won’t say now”
England’s duel with Denmark in Sydney will see the rivals face-off for the first time since the Lionesses’ 2-0 friendly defeat of the Danes in 2019.
Lars Sondegaard’s side, who are currently ranked the world’s 14th best team by Fifa, have won five of their seven games since February.
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One of the biggest threats facing Hemp and her team-mates will be their opponents’ captain Harder with the former Chelsea star aiming to dominate midfield.
While a hamstring injury last November saw her crocked for club and country for much of last season, she notched up eight goals in 10 WSL appearances.
That run helped Chelsea win a third successive top-flight crown before her free transfer to Bayern Munich.
Hemp said: “Denmark have got a very big attacking threat (in Harder) who we obviously know about.
“We are working hard in training to counteract that and be better than them. They come with different strengths to Haiti.
“They’ve got some fantastic players, a lot of players who play in the WSL who a lot of us are familiar with.”
On Tuesday the Lionesses were put through their paces at an open training session at Central Coast Stadium watched by 2,500 fans.
The stadium in New South Wales, Australia, is located 7.4 miles away from Terrigal, where England will be based for the rest of the tournament.
Away from prepping to help England end their open play goalless drought, Hemp has taken to Lego building in her spare time.
The Euros-winning forward posted a picture on Instagram of her latest creation – a fully assembled Lego motorbike.
Hemp added: “I’m working on a globe at the moment. I feel like it’s really therapeutic.
“For me after a long training session or a hard day, I just go home and do that. I just enjoy doing it.”
Hemp, who has 39 senior international caps, has been touted as a potential player of the tournament for England by Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall.
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However the forward insists her focus will be getting her job done rather than individual plaudits.
She said: “It’s nice hearing comments from other coaches but it all comes down to focusing on yourself, focusing on the team, getting that job done and then focus on individual stuff.”
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