She may only be 22 but England women’s Fran Kirby carries a lot of responsibility on and off the pitch for Mark Sampson’s Lionesses.

As one of the stars of the England side which captured the imagination of a nation during England’s run to the semi-final of last year’s World Cup in Canada, Kirby’s name has been thrust into the public consciousness.

She has embraced the newfound recognition, but admits the position of a role model is often hard to comprehend considering her age.

“It is a weird one because I am still so young and I have got people who are 19 calling me a role model when I am only a few years older than them,” Kirby explains.

“It is a bit strange, but it’s nice at the same time. It is always going to happen, when you are able to play for your country people are going to look up to you.

“The main thing is you have to keep performing and keep winning. We want to entertain people and make sure they want to come back and watch you again.”

And perform the former Bucks New University student has. A central role in Reading FC Women’s promotion to WSL1 helped earn her a reported British record transfer to Chelsea where she has netted six times in seven games.

Kirby will now look to transfer that club form to the international stage once more as England take on Serbia at Adams Park next Saturday.

Having family and friends in the area means the trip to Wycombe Wanderers’ home is an experience Kirby is looking forward to immensely.

“I am really looking forward to it and the pitch looks great. Adams Park is close to my hometown so a lot of my family will be able to come and watch,” Kirby explained.

“I have always had great memories of the area. Reading FC Women are playing here at the moment as well so it is great for me to come here and play.

“Hopefully a few of their fans will come down and support me, because I had quite a lot of years there.”

Of course, the Serbia match is about more than friends reunited for Kirby and Women’s Euro qualification is the attacker’s main priority.

The Lionesses currently sit one point behind Belgium in their group but have a game in hand over their rivals in the hunt for qualification.

There is a calm focus about Kirby when she speaks and as with much of her responses the subject of Serbia brings her back to one salient point, winning.

She said: “Belgium are a great side and showed that when they came over here and held us to a draw.

“We are excited for the Serbia game and we want to win every game we can whether it is 1-0 or 6-0. I am confident we are going to win the group and I think everyone feels the same.”