Niamh Charles talks basketball, rainy days and Netherlands test

I was really excited to train today and to be honest, a bit upset that it was lashing it down when we were getting ready to train and it was almost like the second we went out, it just decided to stop.

I would’ve enjoyed going down in the pouring rain but it was nice to get a little bit of home and also give my shoulders a break from being burnt every day.

Me and Hempo [Lauren Hemp] are in the market for a suncream sponsor because we apply it rigorously every day.

Also, I’ve had to order some more because I definitely sweat it off, so I do need some advice about products to use and when to use it. I put it on the right amount of time before training but I still just come out red raw on my face and my shoulders. I’m doing what I can!

Zurich is beautiful. I think we were spoilt the first few days when we came with the unbelievable weather. The last few days, it’s given me a little bit of hope that it’s not always perfect because the first few days I did think, ‘this place is perfect’.

We’ve been in the lake which is beautiful and we’ve been round by the lake. We’ve been training hard and also enjoying the beautiful hotel that we have here.

A bunch of us created a little routine after training where quite a few times, we’ve come back, had lunch and then all gone to the spa. The facilities here are amazing. We chill by the pool with our books and it’s just like a proper switch-off time. It’s a nice little escape I think.

A few of us have been playing basketball a lot, although last time I checked, I think it was Aggie or someone has broken the hoop a little bit – it has seen better days.

When we were back at Chelsea, one of our players – Katie Cox – is a very good basketballer and we were having a little picnic one day and she gave me a tutorial because I am terrible at shooting. I played netball growing up but I was always a centre.

I was trying to channel my inner Katie Cox and I flicked it, swish and turned around. I’m still yet to see the clip! It was a highlight for sure and I’m so glad it was on camera. I’ve been telling quite a lot of people about it.

Back for another Diary Room episode!

Today @niamhcharles7 talks training in the rain, putting things right for Netherlands and THAT nickname from Maya... pic.twitter.com/pOoXLSIxvZ

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 8, 2025

Table tennis was big in Australia but I’ve not gone too gung ho yet, I’m leading in but I did play Aggie [Beever-Jones] today and Hempo yesterday.

I think that’ll grow during the tournament but there’s a lot of games to be had there. I need to make some improvements there for sure but I’ve got plenty of games left to play and hopefully I’ll come out on top.

France was a tough game and we know there’s things we can definitely do better. It didn’t go the way we would’ve wanted but it’s a nice little personal moment I guess to make my EUROs debut but hopefully the next game is even better.

I think coming on, it was an intense game and I think at that point, it had changed – they were 2-0 up at the time and very much looking to run the clock down and hit us on the counter. It became very transitional and end-to-end with lots of turnovers but it was a high intensity match to come into.

It was good that towards the end we got the momentum and managed to grab a goal but if it had been a bit longer, hopefully we’d have got another goal. We believed we were going to equalise but we didn’t have enough time.

Now, we’re really looking forward to the next game on Wednesday to put it right and try and give the best versions of ourselves. We’re going to take as much time as possible to make sure we’re very prepared but it can’t come soon enough.

The next few days, it’s getting ready as much as possible, taking the lessons from the last game and putting it into practice on the training pitch and making sure mentally and physically, we’re all ready come Wednesday and we can put our best foot forward. It’s going to be a massive game, so all eyes on that.