Lucy Bronze has said England’s squad need to be ‘ready for anything’ at the World Cup as she back heads into her third tournament with the Lionesses later this month.
Eight years ago in Canada, Bronze, 32, had not even established herself as a first-choice starter for the Lionesses, but this year she's urging her teammates to seize the moment.
She was handed her chance at right-back, ended scoring a belter that helped England to a knock-out victory over Norway - and a match-winning header against Canada cemented her reputation.
Bronze has since gone on to play for Lyon and Barcelona since then and knows full well how much of a shop window it can be.
She said: “The message is to seize the moment - yes I went into the World Cup in 2015 not expecting to do much and I ended up playing every single game, scoring goals and forcing myself into the spotlight.
“Anything can happen. We saw that last year with Chloe Kelly in the Euros.
“She played very few minutes in that tournament and ended up scoring the winner in the final. There will be plenty of opportunities for people to shine and have their moments.
“The key is being able to take them.”
The main take-out from Saturday’s goalless draw with Portugal was that Sarina Wiegman, by her own admission, does not know her first-choice starting XI.
England started with one formation and then changed to another at the interval.
With players short of minutes, the Dutch coach was forced to swap and change throughout. With skipper Millie Bright looking on from the sidelines, doubts remain as to whether the Chelsea stopper will be fit for the opening group game against Haiti.
One of the bright spots was undoubtedly Lauren James who played ahead of Bronze before being switched inside. No matter. She was a menace throughout.
Bronze said: “For a player that’s so young and talented, people forget how much expectation there is on her.
“Because I’m the experienced player, she wants to get me in the game. I’m saying to her: ‘You’re the winger, you have it.’
“It’s nice that she wants to get me involved. Give her space and she will score us a goal. She’s still learning when to be selfish and when not to be and when to make the right decision. I’m just there to help her find her way.”
Wiegman sprang something of a surprise by slotting Esme Morgan alongside Jess Carter at the heart of her defence, moving Alex Greenwood to left-back. Morgan, too, would have done her chances no harm, either.
Bright added: “Lauren, Esme and Katie Robinson - I thought all of those younger players did really well. They grew into the game. There’s a lot of talk about Millie and Leah Williams but I thought Esme was very good.
“They are exciting. They don’t have fear. They have slotted right in. They are used to doing it in the Women’s Super League - and they do it for us now.”
