Lucy Bronze believes England’s ability to mix things up has made them more unpredictable, after the team looked refreshed in a back three for their 6-1 defeat of China on Tuesday. “In the Euros we were able to keep the same team because everyone was fit and firing,” she said. “We were very fortunate to have that. Other teams had misfortune with injuries last year but we have shown now that we can change things around and still be dangerous.”
England went into the tournament without their Euros captain, Leah Williamson, the Golden Boot winner, Beth Mead, and the dynamic Fran Kirby, while the loss of Keira Walsh after injury against Denmark meant Sarina Wiegman had to think differently. Against China she used 3-5-2 instead of the 4-3-3 the Lionesses have tended to deploy under the Dutch manager. England play Nigeria on Monday in the last 16.
