Ex-England captain Carol Thomas has 'every confidence' in Lionesses

Carol Thomas received an honorary doctorate in recognition of her "outstanding contribution" to women's football

Ex-Lioness Carol Thomas has said she has "every confidence" in the current England squad's progress in the World Cup finals after she was recognised for her own footballing achievements.

The former England women's football captain said she was "absolutely blown away" at being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull.

Ms Thomas said she felt "emotional" to receive the honour in her home city.

The university said she had "become an inspirational" figure to all Lionesses.

Ms Thomas made her national debut in 1974, aged 19, and that same year she became the first and youngest woman to qualify as an FA Coach.

She was the first woman to be awarded 50 caps and skippered the team for nine years before retiring in 1985.

She was also the first woman to captain the Lionesses in a European final.

Carol Thomas lifting the runner-up trophy following England's defeat to Sweden in the 1984 Euro finals

As one of the original Lionesses, Ms Thomas said she was "so proud" to see the current crop of players doing well for England in the Women's World Cup.

"I'm so proud for myself and the women I played with back in the 70s and 80s to see where the Lionesses have got to at this present time.

"We're proud they're standing on our shoulders, so to speak, and we sort of set the ball in motion."

Speaking to the BBC after England beat Denmark 1-0 on Friday to maintain a 100% record in Group D of the World Cup, Ms Thomas said she had "every confidence in them going the whole way".

Earlier this month, Ms Thomas received her honorary doctorate in recognition of her "outstanding contribution to women's football and inspiration to girls and women of all ages".

She was awarded the honour by Alan Johnson, the university's new chancellor, during a ceremony at the Bonus Arena on 18 July.

It came seven months after she was handed the Freedom of the City.

"It's absolutely amazing and I'm so proud to get them from my home city which has helped me in my football career," she said.

"I don't know if [I] can go any higher."

The university said she had shown "a strong commitment to supporting grassroots football" in the region.

The former Lioness was awarded the Freedom of the City of Hull earlier this year

The ex-Lioness was also awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen's Jubilee birthday honours last year and in 2021 she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Since 2019, Ms Thomas has been the Ambassador to Hull City Ladies club, giving talks to youngsters in schools.

She said the area had "always been a hotspot for girls and women's football".

There had been "a big uptake" in girls playing football in schools since the current Lionesses' historic European championship win last year, she added.

"[But] there's still a lot of people out there that don't know our stories from the 70s.

"We're trying to keep it out there as as well as encouraging youngsters to look up to the present Lionesses, because they're the role models at the moment."