ITV's Laura Woods on 4am starts for the World Cup and why final will be 'bittersweet'

ok.co.uk:

With the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney upon us there’s probably no one more thrilled about it than TV sports presenter Laura Woods, who has been spearheading ITV’s coverage of the tournament. “It’s all been so fun,” the 36-year-old says. "There have been so many different storylines that have really surprised us, and it’s been very difficult to predict.

A lot of the favourites that we were eyeing up and thinking, ‘They’re going to do well,’ haven’t done quite as well as we thought.” The time difference with Australia has meant Laura and her team – former England players Eni Aluko and Karen Carney – are often in the studio at 4am to prepare for a match with a 9am kick-off.

But the hours haven’t dampened her spirit – in fact, she’s more hyped up than ever. “Yesterday, me, Eni and Karen were just so shattered, then we went on air and in the first break, Eni said, ‘Are you alright?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m having a great time!’ and she was like, ‘You’re so excited!’ I think we all feed off one another’s energy to get through the early starts.” After an exciting month of football shenanigans, Laura says the final will be “bittersweet” for her. “That’s the great thing with tournament football, you’re so invested in it from start to finish.

You know all of the storylines that are intertwining with each other in the different nations,” she adds. “I can’t wait to see it through.