Former England captain and Leeds United player turned Yorkshire police officer says England will win World Cup 2022

Karen Walker, 53, captained England at the same time as David Beckham, scoring 40 goals in 83 caps, and competed in 13 FA Cup Finals.

She was picked for the England squad aged 17 and spent around 25 years at Doncaster Belles, after enjoying kickabouts with her brother in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and was the first person to score a hat-trick in every round of a FA Cup season, in 1992

Man U fan Karen went on to play for arch rivals Leeds United, where she was banned from doing interviews due to her personal allegiance - and says signing Eric Cantona was the best £1million Man U ever spent.

After retiring from football in 2006, Karen joined Humberside Police, having seen her mum suffer domestic violence.

She believes Gareth Southgate and the England team have got the 'strength and depth' to win the World Cup, and says players like Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling are setting an example to young people.

And she joked that Harry Maguire talks about being the England captain more than she does.

But she said using football to engage with vulnerable young people as a neighbourhood police officer in Hull, East Yorks, where she lives, was one of the best things in her life.

Karen said: "I'm expecting us to win, I'm a massive England fan.

"Rashford and Sterling are using their platform to talk about social issues, Southgate is the perfect man for the job.

"They seem like lovely young men, they set an example, I'm really, really optimistic.

"Beckham was captain at the same time as I was but one of the proudest things I've ever done in my life is playing with and training vulnerable young people as a police officer.

"Everything I used in football I use in the police.

"I get tormented for my football career by my colleagues, they bring it up but I don't.

"When I speak to victims I can really relate to them, I'm genuine.

"My mum experienced domestic violence, it happens, we shouldn't hide it."

She credited "drive and focus" with getting her inducted into the Hall of Fame in Old Trafford at the end of her career.

But when Karen got a call from England gaffer Hope Powell telling her they needed to speak she thought she was in the bad books due to a previous personality clash.

Karen said: "I played with Hope Powell at the start of my England career, but we didn’t particularly get along all too well.

"When she took over as manager in the late 90s, she didn’t play me at first.

"Then somebody got injured so I got to play, and I was awarded man of the match.

"She struggled to drop me after that, and we got past our differences.

"When she made me captain, I thought I was in trouble.

"I got a call from Hope asking me to go to her room but when I got there, she just said 'Kaz, I’m going to make you captain'.

"I still get goosebumps thinking about it."

Karen retired from England in 2003 after winning Sky Sports International Player of the year, and retired in 2006 after taking Leeds United to their first Women’s FA Cup final.

Karen said interpersonal relationships guided her career decisions and she joined Leeds United because a friend had been promoted to manager.

She said: "Leeds United had never been to the FA Cup final before, but we got there that season.

"We lost, but I still loved it all.

"By the end of my career, I’d played 13 FA Cup finals."

Despite having a glittering career on the pitch, Karen said she had no ambitions within the police.

She said: "I pushed myself to the limits during my football career, so now I’m happy to be where I am.

"I got to do something that I loved to a really high level.

"I’ve got that mentality where if I want something done, I do it myself, and I got that drive and focus, I’ve always had it."

Karen said giving young people confidence was one of the best parts of her job, and football was a mechanism for that to happen.

She said: "It’s so rewarding playing with kids who have autism or Asperger’s, who at first struggled to talk to you but then build up this relationship that has them telling you to mark up on a corner.

"There’s one lad who plays in goal – he’ll have been 19 at the time, nearly 21 now.

"He’s a brilliant goalkeeper.

"The team had never won, but we got them organised and won a few games, it was sensational.

"I was sat next to him at the end of one of the matches, and he said “Kaz, that’s what dreams are made of”.

"I was crying my eyes out, it’s the most rewarding thing by a million miles.

"That was one of the best things I've ever done in my life.

"I'm proud to have done something like that."

Karen said it was emotional watching the Lionesses winning the Euros this summer.

She added: "I think the pressure on men is far greater but the women have got that level of enjoyment, dancing and singing.

"It was just nice to see them."