17 August 2023 , 10:00
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Lucy Bronze ended her semi-final torment - and fixed her gaze on a little star.
England’s most influential player, who has suffered at the last four stage of the previous two World Cups, buried her anguish on a never-to-be-forgotten night in Sydney. The Lionesses deservedly booked themselves a date with Spain following a fearless show against the co-hosts, leaving Bronze to fantasise once more about a date with destiny.
She said: “I watched the World Cup in Germany back in 2011 when England played and were knocked out by France. That’s my memory of the England team and since that tournament, I’ve played in every single one.
“I’ve always said the one thing I wanted for England was to get a star above the crest. The men have it - and we don’t - and, now, hopefully, we will be sharing the same.”
England do not own the copyright on tournament heartache but in previous World Cup tournaments have been particularly galling. Laura Bassett’s own goal in the dying seconds saw them knocked out by Japan in 2015 and Steph Houghton’s missed penalty in Lyon against the United States cost Phil Neville’s side the chance to take the game to extra time.
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Having finally got over the line, the emotions were still running high.
She said: "In 2015 it was heart-breaking because of how it happened. I don’t think a team’s suffered a defeat in the last minute because of a fluky own goal.
"And for me, 2019 was a heartache because it had been my best year in the game. Everything seemed to be going my way and then the semi-final hit me like a tonne of stones.
“So, it does feel like a relief.
England’s Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood celebrate reaching the World Cup final (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)“I said to Jess Carter and Beth England: ‘You must think England just get to finals. You haven’t been there in Canada, France or in Holland for the 2017 Euros. Defeat after defeat in semi-finals. To have finally made it is a dream come true.”
Bronze has been consistent in her post-game message. Essentially, it’s ‘we’ve found a way to win, great, we move on.’
It’s as simple as her football, a no-nonsense straightforward approach that has made her, for all the noise about others, the Lionesses’ standard-bearer.
She said: “We’ve made history. We’ve never been in a World Cup final before. We never made a final until last year. And we’ve had so many things go against us. Red cards, key players getting injured before the tournament and during it.
“Going a goal down in the quarter-finals, playing the host nation in the semi-finals - everything’s been thrown at us, including the kitchen sink.
“And we’ve just won games. We’ve stuck together. We’ve got an incredibly tight bond and a tight-knit team.
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“Winning the Euros last year gave us a huge amount of confidence but we’ve suffered a few losses this year in terms of big players.
“There’s been a lot of noise on the outside and it’s just pushed us closer together. Before the tournament, people had us down to get knocked out in the group.
“Now, we’re in the final.”