Lucy Bronze has revealed some of the inside jokes in the England dressing room involving manager Sarina Wiegman.
During a light hearted interview with BBC Sport on the Lionesses' group chat secrets ahead of the World Cup finals, full-back Bronze joked Wiegman's pronunciation of certain words is often the source of amusement. Bronze will be a key part of the England side looking to become World Champions in Australia and New Zealand, 12 months on from winning the Euros on home soil.
The Barcelona defender has made a successful return from a knee injury which required keyhole surgery back in April and last month featured for her club side in their dramatic Champions League final win over Wolfsburg. Bronze is now set to be one of England's most senior players at the tournament, with captain Leah Williamson ruled out through injury.
England fly out for the tournament on Wednesday, but before heading out to Australia Bronze lifted the lid on the secrets of the Lionesses' team group chat. And she admitted she was happy to embarrass the manager when required.
"There's a few funny things that have happened to Sarina," Bronze revealed to BBC. "She says a lot of (English) words wrong but obviously not on purpose.
"There's one she uses, that she has used the whole time she has been the manager. Instead of saying we switch sides, she says 'we swift'.
"Literally only a couple of weeks ago, someone said 'you do know it's not swift, it's switch. That's an inside joke that I don't think anyone has spoken about outside of England.
"They don't like to embarrass Sarina, whereas I love it! Next time someone interviews her I hope they ask about it."
Bronze has already represented England at two World Cup finals, in 2015 and 2019, scoring in both during runs to the semi-finals. She also revealed the players in the England camp who she formed her own group chat with earlier in the year, away from the wider team.
"I was part of a splinter group," Bronze joked. "It was Keira (Walsh) Gee (Georgia Stanway) Leah (Williamson) and me. But the group was literally called 'the three best friends and Lucy'. I think it was Georgia that set that one up. I like to let them have their little jokes."
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