There was a time when a World Cup knockout game against Nigeria seemed a long, long way away for Millie Bright. After picking up a knee injury in March she faced a gruelling race against time to be fit for the tournament – and only just made it.
“The running was brutal,” says the England captain, looking back on the months leading up to the World Cup, when she was not able to play a single competitive match. The centre-back’s only minutes of game time since the injury against Lyon had been an unknown number of minutes in a behind-closed-doors pre-tournament friendly with Canada and there was genuine concern she may not be ready for England’s opener against Haiti.
Her presence in the pre-match press conference allayed the fears she may not play but she was not at her best against the World Cup debutants, struggling on the pitch and looking leggy. However, she has made remarkable progress during the three group games and is already looking like the indomitable presence at the back that helped England to a first major international title at the Euros last year. She will be critical in England’s last-16 tie with Nigeria.
“When you have a short space of time it’s just about making sure you get up to speed, and make sure your body is in a position that you can actually return to training and return to games, so for me it was about getting that in,” says Bright. “I’ve got an unbelievable medical team behind me that had put me through all the tests that I needed to step out on to the pitch safely and in the right shape to compete.”
Bright played in a back three in England’s 6-1 victory over China in their final group game, having laboured to 1-0 wins against Haiti and Denmark playing as part of a back four. Sarina Wiegman would not be drawn on how her team would set up, with Keira Walsh potentially available. England have played with three at the back only one other time under Wiegman, in the record-breaking 20-0 defeat of Latvia.
Bright is used to the formation though, as Chelsea have flitted between three and four at the back. “Four or three, I’m not really fazed by either. I think I play there at club level so I’ve probably got used to being in that role,” she says.
Being tactically flexible is increasingly important, she adds. “The game’s growing so much and there’s a level of technical ability, and the performances are there. It’s now about teams trying to catch each other out with new formations and tactics. You always have to be adaptable, dynamic and ready to push yourself to the next level. We have a brilliant manager who can do it and we know what we’re capable of. Everyone is ready to adapt to a new situation. We’re blessed that we have a group of players who can play in several formations.”
Nigeria’s manager, Randy Waldrum, admitted his side would have to be ready for either. “We have to prepare for both,” he said. “As a coach I would expect her [Wiegman] to go with a back three because they played ever so well like that. We also know they’re going to adapt to how they can best play against us, so we have to prepare for both situations, that’s what makes the job challenging because we don’t have a lot of time. We’ve tried this week to prepare for both and we’ll see which way they come out.”
On the threat posed by Nigeria, Bright says it will be an “extremely tough” test. “Preparations are in full swing. It’s a game we’ve got to be at our best for, just like any other game. They’re pacy, strong and physical. We’ve seen their performances against really good teams, and they posed a lot of threats. We also, on the flipside, know ours and we have to remain focused on ourselves and how we can hurt them. It’s always about who’s better prepared, come that game, at executing their gameplan.”
There have been a host of upsets at the World Cup. Nigeria beat hosts Australia and took a point from Olympic champions Canada. Meanwhile, Jamaica earned draws with Brazil and France on their way to the last 16 and Colombia beat Germany. Bright says they had been alert to the threat of the upcoming nations from the off.
“We always had that awareness that these sorts of results were going to happen,” she says. “We were prepared for that, we never took anyone for granted. We celebrate 1-0 wins because they are massive and, looking back, I think maybe on the outside now they’ll be more appreciated.”
