Fran Kirby announced her international retirement on Tuesday after she was told she would not be a part of the Lionesses team for the Euros this summer.
Kirby, who made her England debut in 2014, had plans to hang up her international boots after the major tournament but not being selected brought those forward.
The 31-year-old, who won the Euros in 2022, won her last of 77 caps for the Lionesses last Friday against Portugal at Wembley.
Fran Kirby: "Major tournaments are the main reason you play football"
Kirby had fought back from injuries to be involved in the latest England camps with a knee issue ruling her out of the 2023 World Cup.
She had been excited to play on one of the sport's biggest stages once again this summer.
Speaking about what it is like to play in a major tournament, Kirby told FourFourTwo: "It is probably the main reason why you play football, why you grew up loving football.
"It's the moments of being able to play in a major tournament and I am really lucky as I have played in a few now.
"For me, you never really get over that feeling. It's something I grew up wanting to do so it doesn't matter if it's my first one, second one, sixth one, it's always the same."
England will bid to defend their European crown in Switzerland but they do find themselves in a difficult group. They are against Wales, the Netherlands and France.
Kirby, who was speaking before her retirement announcement, said it is an added pressure to go into the tournament as the holders for the first time.
She added: "The squad has changed so much since that tournament [Euro 2022]. We have a lot of players who retired from that team and we have new players coming in who have that hunger. That hunger of being part of a tournament.
"I think it is going to be completely different going into this tournament and the way all of the teams have stepped up. You see in the Nations League, people taking points off of each other.
"I always feel going into a tournament, just because you have won the previous one doesn't mean you are favourites for the next one. It's because all of the teams are so good now that you can't just think because you have won one you go onto the next."
There will be a lot of discussion and pieces written around what will be key for England to bring home the trophy once again.
For Kirby, the answer to the question is simple. "I think it is hunger from everyone in the team," she said.
"Everyone sees the 11 who go out there and maybe the subs that come on but for me it's the hunger of everyone. The hunger of the players who don't get minutes, who have to go out and do a blowout the next day.
"Everyone contributes to this and I think that is one of the main reasons we managed to get where we did in 2022 because everyone bought into it.
"Everyone knew if we won, we all won. It didn't matter if you weren't playing every minute, it didn't matter if you didn't get any minutes at all. It was everyone at the end of the tournament wins. That's important. It is understanding what your role is."
