Anybody would forgive Lucy Bronze a touch of jetlag-induced fuzziness but, straight after alighting from England’s flight home at Heathrow, the Manchester City right-back cut a convincing enough figure of somebody who would happily pore over the previous month’s achievements for hours.
Confidence has not been in short supply in Mark Sampson-era England and it would not be outlandish to say that the squad’s bright, progressive demeanour has a new standard bearer in Bronze. The 23-year-old sat out of the group stage games against France and Mexico but was outstanding in the knockout phase, scoring twice – including a thunderous winner against Norway – and playing her way onto the shortlist for the tournament’s Golden Ball award with the assertiveness of a tournament veteran. Bronze is a household name now and, reflecting on a third-placed finish that made England the best performing team from their continent, gives a strong impression that she would readily fast-forward to Euro 2017 straightaway.
“That is something we will be looking for now [to be the best in Europe again]”, she says. “That’s the next tournament and if we can do the same thing at the Euros then this time we will come home with the gold medal.
“Maybe the expectation around us in terms of media attention might be a little bit different in future, but the pressure we put on ourselves will be exactly the same going into every other tournament now.”
Bronze’s appearance in the international consciousness from seemingly nowhere belies the fact that this had apparently been Sampson’s plan all along. Rotation was the cornerstone of a policy designed to keep England’s players fresher and sharper than the rest, and Sampson had used 22 of his 23-strong squad before the semi-final stage.
“We were really aware of it at the start of the tournament,” she says. “He told us that the team was going to change every game. You knew that you might not be playing even if you had played well the game before, but it was just something you had to get on with for the team because our squad is unbelievable. It’s hard to change in and out of positions but we’ve dealt with it really well as a team.”
None of that is supposed to qualify her praise for Sampson, who was not shy of making bold statements as England’s momentum grew but may well have been on to something when saying Bronze has “got the potential to be, without a shadow of a doubt, the best right-back in the world”.
“Mark is probably the biggest change in the team in the last few years,” she says. “We needed a push in that direction and he has brought that winning mentality. He wants to win, whether that means we have to change every game, change formation, whatever it might be. He just wants to win games and has really shown that during this tournament.
“Before every game he says to me: ‘you’re playing against so-and-so and she’s the best player in their team.’ That is what I thrive on – I want to play against the best players. I’m not aiming to be the best right-back in the world, I’m just aiming to be the best player I can and if they happen to coincide then even better.”
That process continues with a regimen of nine more Women’s Super League games between now and October for City, starting with a home match against Birmingham this Sunday. Eight of England’s squad could play in the game and, for all that ticket sales will be boosted by a euphoric homecoming, on a sporting level it would usually appear perverse that Sampson’s players are expected to crack straight back on with the domestic grind. It is an argument, though, that Bronze has no truck with.
“I’m not missing out. I love playing football and can’t wait. I know we have just landed, and we’ll have a few days off, but I just can’t wait to get back into training whether that’s for City or just by myself. I love it and can’t wait to play again at the weekend.
“Some of the other girls are probably exhausted because it is such a relief to finally come away having done something at a tournament. They might be overblown with emotion whereas I’m raring to go – it has just spurred me on for the next one.”
Bronze understands that cementing the work of the past month in front of a homegrown audience would have a significant bearing on her sport’s standing in the wider scheme of things.
“We might not reap the benefits [ourselves], it might be in 10 years’ time when the women’s game is just as big as the men’s,” she says. “We know we are just part of the ladder and the next step in achieving that. We know that is our job and are happy to do it – and if it means that some girl a decade from now is going to be the best player in the world and she is English, I will be proud to say I played a part in that.”
