After impressing at her hometown club Burnley, where she had been a season-ticket holder as a child as England beat Australia 1–0 in September 2003, she was asked to turn on the Christmas lights in Burnley – but she had to cancel as she was playing for England as they beat Scotland 5–0 in November at nearby Preston. After a long spell out with injury, Brown returned to the England team against Sweden in the last group game of Women’s Euro 2005.