Sarina Wiegman had no room for sentiment for Lucy Bronze despite the full-back reaching a century of appearances for England against Czech Republic on Tuesday.
The Euro 2022 champions picked up a big scalp in their first fixture during this international break with a 2-1 victory over world champions USA, without the services of injured captain Leah Williamson. Defender Millie Bright was handed the armband in Williamson's absence, though many felt Lucy Bronze could step in as skipper for the clash with Czech Republic due to it being her 100th cap.
However, Wiegman overlooked Bronze to again stick with Bright, having clarified her thoughts on the situation in the lead up to the game. “When Millie (Bright) plays, Millie will be captain,” England's head coach told the media in her pre-match press conference on Monday.
“Lucy has an incredible role in our team as a leader. Even when not wearing the band, she is still a leader. She’s also very connected from the start during the games, the vision she has, and the intelligence in the game can really translate the way we want to play and how to solve things.
“I think we have a couple of players that do really well but it goes really quickly when you analyse not only an individual’s game but the whole team.”
Bronze, who currently is playing alongside former Manchester City teammate Keira Walsh in Barcelona is solely focused on playing as many games as she can rather than the captaincy speculation.
Speaking ahead of the landmark achievement, the full-back explained how her focus is only on one thing, fending off current competition from the younger stars that are breaking through the ranks. “Until Sarina stops playing me, 2025!” she joked when asked about the longevity of the rest of her playing career at international level.
“As long as I’m still enjoying my football, I’m going to keep on playing and if my knees hold up, I will play as long as I can. I think someone like [44-year-old Brazilian footballer] Formiga is someone I really look up to and the career she has had, to play for as long as she did, I would like to mimic something like that but that’s not always possible.
“I’ll see if these young kids take my place in the future but for now, they can stay away!”
