England return to Wembley Stadium this Saturday as they gear up to face the U.S Women’s National Team in a highly anticipated rivalry. Defender Lucy Bronze said the Lionesses are prepared to face the “ruthless” USWNT as Emma Hayes makes her return to London.
England ready for ‘ruthless’ USA
The rivalry between England and the USA has been budding over the last decade, and will have a chance to reignite once again this Saturday. Bronze described the meeting with the USA as an “opportunity”.
“We are really excited to play the US. As long as I’ve been an England player it has been one of the most exciting games to play in. There seems to be a rivalry that has kind of blossomed out of nowhere over the past decade and we know that no matter what players show up, it’s such a competitive and high level game.”
Bronze touched on how the challenge of the USA will be a perfect learning opportunity for the Lionesses heading into next summer, where they will make an attempt at defending their title as European champions.
“It’s a good level because of the fact that the US have just won an Olympic Gold medal,” said Bronze. “To win the Olympics you have to be intense, you have to be ruthless and you have to have that crazy mentality- I think that sums up the USA perfectly. So if we can go toe-to-toe with a team like that, see the mentality that it takes, learn from any mistakes that we make in the game, push ourselves and show what we are capable of. If we can show what we can do against a top team like that, it’s going to put us in very good stead for the next 6-9 months until the Euros.”
Bronze praises ‘honest and open-minded’ Wiegman
It is the battle of the managers on Saturday, as Sarina Wiegman prepares to share the touchline with Emma Hayes for the very first time since the former Chelsea boss took post in America. Packing on the praise for her coach, Bronze spoke on what makes Wiegman so good for England.
“She has been quite good at coming into England and setting a calmness, making sure players are confident on the pitch. I think it’s nice when you have that confidence with the players on the pitch, but with the manager as well. She’s always got her door open so that you can speak to her.
“She likes to be challenged, but she’s very honest. I think that works well with this team, having that honesty to tell you when we need to push on. She’s very open-minded and I think that’s part of the reason that we did so well at the Euros and why we’ve always done so well under Sarina.”
‘My drive is to win every game that I play in’
Bronze has been one of the key figureheads for England over the last decade, having made 126 appearances for the Lionesses since debuting in 2013. Bronze is adamant that she isn’t going anywhere, and her motivation is “to win every game I play in”.
“Regardless of my age of where I am at with my career, I still think that I am performing at the highest level that I can,” said Bronze. “I want to be a part of the England squad as long as I can, and Sarina is the manager so it is up to her. But if I can keep my level high, playing at Chelsea, playing at England, then I don’t see why I can’t have that goal of playing at the Euros with England.”
‘Lucy is the most competitive player I’ve ever worked with’ says Wiegman
Wiegman packed on the praise for Bronze, describing her as “the most competitive player I’ve ever worked with”.
The England head coach continued, “She has an incredible game understanding, but she always sees the bigger picture too. She’s so helpful to every other player on the pitch. Her physicality in the game is also really great, so she’s amazing and a really good part of the team.”
