All Euro 2025 Players Under Pressure To ‘explode’ Women’s Game, Insists Bronze

Lucy Bronze believes each subordinate astatine nan European Championship feels a greater unit to execute because of nan boost women’s shot receives arsenic a consequence of success.

“Every azygous subordinate that puts connected a garment successful this tourney astir apt feels that,” nan defender said, arsenic England prepare to play Sweden successful their quarter-final connected Thursday night. “I tin ideate nan Swiss squad consciousness that because they’re nan location nation. Every different squad wants to replicate what England did successful 2022, what nan Netherlands did earlier us, and really boost women’s shot and we cognize that occurrence comes from that.

“We cognize that we’re very fortunate successful England that erstwhile we person occurrence it really does detonate nan crippled and I deliberation it’s what we want each complete Europe and each complete nan world.”

The meteoric maturation of women’s shot successful England aft the Lionesses’ occurrence astatine Euro 2022 is simply a bonus, though, not their “why” arsenic a team. “My main logic for winning nan tourney is to assistance nan trophy,” Bronze said. “But a portion and parcel of occurrence is that it helps build nan women’s crippled and that’s thing that evidently I want to hap successful England much and more.”

Bronze is competing astatine her seventh awesome tourney pinch England. Kosovare Asllani, who joined Sweden’s coach, Peter Gerhardsson, successful facing nan media, is competing successful her eighth. “It’s a spot for illustration nan nosy starts now,” nan midfielder said. “It’s ever a reliable game. England person a batch of talented players whereas our biggest spot lies successful nan measurement we play arsenic a team.”

Bronze said: “Someone mentioned that Asllani said it’s going to beryllium fun. My mentation of that is that this is 2 teams that are successful this crippled to triumph it, nary sitting back, some very talented, athletic, beingness and everything that you deliberation of successful a shot crippled could hap because some teams are astatine nan apical level.”

The teams are very acquainted pinch each other. Many of Sweden’s squad play successful nan Women’s Super League and nan countries met successful nan World Cup bronze badge lucifer successful 2019, pinch Sweden nan victors, successful nan quarter-finals of nan 2022 Euros, pinch England coming retired connected top, and shared nan spoils successful nan Nations League past play pinch 2 draws.

“We respect England, nan squad they person and everything they person achieved truthful far,” Asllani said. “Do we fearfulness them? No. We don’t person nan connection fearfulness successful our dictionary. We look up nan connection courage. Of course, you person to respect 1 of nan champion sides successful nan world and we person nan cleanable gameplan for this match. I consciousness a consciousness of longing to commencement nan game. We want to spell retired and play our shot intensely and physically. In our minds location is only 1 result and that is to win.”

Kosovare Asllani trains alongside her Sweden teammates up of nan gathering pinch England. Photograph: Ludvig Thunman/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock

The cardinal to occurrence for England is focusing connected themselves connected and disconnected nan pitch. “Coming disconnected nan backmost of nan France crippled and having a batch of talking points really brought nan squad person together,” Bronze said.

“I deliberation you saw that successful nan 2 performances that came after. We’re not focused excessively overmuch connected noises astir different teams aliases ourselves. We’re only focused connected what we do connected nan training pitch, what we do successful games, really we recover, really we execute and really we assistance each different up.”

Bronze besides went deeper connected what the mantra of being “proper England” means. “We person a batch of younger players and caller players who person very different experiences of playing for England compared to nan likes of myself, who cognize that England utilized to person to excavation heavy each nan time,” she said. “The 2015 World Cup was nan first clip we hit Germany – that’s insane to deliberation astir now – but England successful nan past had to excavation retired performances and was nan underdog, not nan favourite.

“This England squad has developed from there, shot has changed. Obviously we’re a very talented team, pinch a batch of method and tactical ability, but we don’t want to ever hide that we are England, we are ‘proper England’, and if push comes to shove we tin triumph a crippled successful immoderate intends possible.”