Lucy Bronze has insisted that every player at the European Championship feels the pressure to perform, as success in women's football can dramatically boost the sport. The England defender, preparing for Thursday's quarter-final against Sweden, said that replicating the Lionesses' Euro 2022 triumph would help 'explode' the game across Europe.
'Every single player that puts on a shirt in this tournament probably feels that,' Bronze said. 'We know that we're very fortunate in England that when we have success it really does explode the game and I think it's what we want all over Europe and all over the world.'
Bronze, competing at her seventh major tournament, acknowledged the familiarity between the sides, with many Sweden players featuring in the Women's Super League. The teams met in the 2019 World Cup bronze medal match, the Euro 2022 quarter-finals, and shared two draws in the Nations League last season.
'We respect England... Do we fear them? No,' said Sweden midfielder Kosovare Asllani. 'We don't have the word fear in our dictionary. We look up the word courage... In our minds there is only one outcome and that is to win.'
Bronze stressed the importance of focusing on themselves: 'Coming off the back of the France game and having a lot of talking points actually brought the team closer together. We're only focused on what we do on the training pitch... how we lift each other up.'
Reflecting on the 'proper England' mentality, she added: 'This England team has developed... but we don't want to ever forget that we are England, we are 'proper England', and if push comes to shove we can win a game in any means possible.'
