The footballer Lucy Bronze, after scoring the first goal and, despite playing with an injury, scoring the decisive penalty in the penalty shootout against Sweden, was questioned about whether her performance was “adequate” for England, to which she responded emphatically: “Lucy Bronze is the right England”.
Next Tuesday, England will face Italy in their sixth semi-final in the last 10 years. Bronze and defender Alex Greenwood have been part of the team on all six occasions.
It’s incredible to talk to them about the journey and the change in the things we have at our base camp, for example. And it’s really special to know how far the game has come, and it’s a great source of pride that England has consistently reached the final stage of these tournaments.
Esme Morgan
Reaching the semi-finals seems normal for the Lionesses these days, but it wasn’t always that way, the result of a lot of hard work over the last decade.
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Success in the Semifinals
The 2015 World Cup in Canada marked the beginning of the “Bronze Era”. In that tournament, England reached the semi-finals for the first time, with Bronze playing as a left winger and right-back, scoring a great goal against Norway and a crucial header against Canada in the quarter-finals. Although they lost to Japan in the semi-finals, they achieved third place, defeating Germany 1-0 in extra time. This was a key moment for the team.The Lionesses also reached the semi-finals of the 2017 European Championship, where they lost to the Netherlands, who were under the direction of Sarina Wiegman. A player from that team revealed that the secret of their progress in both tournaments was “pure struggle” and a “complete helplessness mentality”.For the 2019 World Cup in France, England was no longer the “underdog” and had high expectations. Despite their best performance in the 3-0 victory over Norway in the quarter-finals, they fell to the United States in the semi-finals. The investment in the team, led by Phil Neville, was increasing, with better facilities and higher salaries in the Women’s Super League, which consolidated the current footballing power.When Wiegman took over England in 2021, hard work paid off. Off the field, she forbade players from wearing jewelry during matches and communication with the players was direct. On the field, she changed the captaincy from Steph Houghton to Leah Williamson, and her experience in major tournaments led England to celebrate victory in the 2022 European Championship.That experience was key a year later, when England reached the final of the 2023 World Cup, losing 1-0 to Spain. Bronze stood out both on and off the field.
If we hadn’t reached the semi-finals, I would have said that we hadn’t performed at the expected level. Our performances haven’t been the best, agreed, but the results have been there… We overcame the obstacle last year in the European Championship and finally reached the final. We overcame that dreaded feeling of always being defeated in the semi-finals, so we have that in the bag.
Lucy Bronze
The ‘why’ as motivation
While England prepares for its sixth major semi-final in ten years, Bronze continues to lead. Before the tournament, each player shared with the rest of the team the reason why they play for England and what drives them. In the team room, there is a photo of each player as a youth, next to another of their career in England. Bronze’s is from the third-place match in the 2019 World Cup.I will give everything when I play with the England shirt. I wanted all the girls to know that that is my ‘why’. My ‘why’ is to give everything for this team because I love playing for England.After the initial defeat against France, Bronze reminded her teammates how they lost their first match in 2015 and reached the semi-finals. Anything is possible, and they trust each other to react.
I think we’ve made ourselves very vulnerable, whether individually, as Sarina herself has become very vulnerable, the staff, the players. I think that gives us much more unity, much more mutual trust, that we are willing to share really difficult moments with each other. How can we help each other in those moments?
Beth Mead
The unit is what keeps England united.The “Proper England” mentality has been England’s mantra in Switzerland, and that unity has been fundamental in reaching another semi-final. The group of substitutes, who maintain morale and intensity, has been key. It was seen against the Netherlands, where England won 4-0 to avoid elimination; against Wales, with a 6-1 victory, and in the hard-fought quarter-final match against Sweden, where they came back from 2-0 down and advanced in the penalty shootout after nine misses. They needed luck, but unity propelled them.This union was demonstrated again in recent days. Defender Jess Carter issued a statement about the racist abuse she has suffered during the tournament. The players responded with a collective message, supporting Carter, condemning the abuse and announcing that they would no longer kneel before matches.
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England ‘angry’ over racist abuse of Carter – Bronze
Once again, Bronze addressed the media, speaking brilliantly for over 20 minutes, making clear the Lionesses’ anger and sadness over the racist abuse of Carter, but also how they would stay united.
We are all very professional and capable of focusing on football while supporting each other. We all support Jess; Jess supports the team. Regardless of what we are going through, we are all capable of doing it and I think we have shown that in this tournament and in previous tournaments, in previous meetings with different players going through different situations, whether it’s something happening at home, deaths of parents, racism, homophobia.
Lucy Bronze
Without a doubt, England will be emotionally charged when they face Italy on Tuesday in Geneva. On the field, they hope Williamson will be fit after twisting his ankle against Sweden, and they are confident that the performance will be more like that against the Netherlands and Wales than that against France and Sweden.
