‘Wales are underdogs but they aren’t more passionate than us’
Lucy Bronze promises England will be fired up for crucial World Cup tie, writes Luke Edwards ‘If we win, we qualify. I still feel that we are in pole position’
They may be portrayed as the glamorous favourites, travelling to Wales to take on the plucky, passionate underdogs in an unfair fight, but Lucy Bronze has warned it would be a mistake to underestimate how determined England are.
Bronze appeared to be a little tired of hearing about Welsh passion in the build-up to tonight’s winner-takes-all clash as she insisted there was no group of players who enjoyed representing their country more than this England squad.
England need to win in Newport to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s World Cup finals, although a draw would be enough if they manage to beat Kazakhstan next week.
But the Welsh intend to pull off a shock and are predictably playing the valiant-underdog card, given their opponents have impressed by reaching the semi-finals of both the World Cup and the European Championship in the past three years.
England were ranked No1 in the world earlier this year and, although Phil Neville’s side were held to a draw by Wales in Southampton in March, it would be a massive surprise if they were to lose.
A defeat would also raise serious questions about Neville, who was a controversial choice to replace Mark Sampson as manager due to his lack of experience in the women’s game.
Bronze gave a blunt response to questions about Wales’s supposedly superior determination. “Wales aren’t going to be more determined or more passionate than us,” said Bronze, who lifted the Champions League trophy with Lyon last season. “Of course, Wales have passion, that’s their big thing. It was the same when we played Scotland in the Euros, they were supposedly more passionate than us and we beat them 6-0 in the end.
“I think that’s just something those teams have, they make it their thing. They want to be known as the underdogs and they want to push that side of things. That’s fine, but don’t say they are more passionate than us. “We work just as hard as everyone else and just because we have been more successful than they have over the last few years, it doesn’t make us any less passionate about what we do.
“That’s also our thing. That’s what this England team is, we’re extremely competitive and we care a lot about playing for our country. “They are saying this is the biggest game in their history, but it’s just as important to us, as are all the games we play. Maybe it’s different for them.
“It’s about having the right mindset and that’s what this team has got. We have played in World Cups and European Championships and we know how important it is that the team keeps doing well at tournaments, keeps winning.
“We want to keep improving and we want to keep getting better. We do not take anything for granted, whether we are playing Kazakhstan or Wales, or whoever.”
England have adopted a more attacking style under Neville and although Wales held them to a draw, Bronze suggested they would not be able to pull off the same trick again.
“Wales have had a fantastic campaign,” Bronze said. “You cannot just say what went wrong for England in the game in Southampton. They set out to