‘We’ve got our body armour on’: Dutch rivalry permeates Lionesses camp | OneFootball

The England centre-back Millie Bright has joked that the Lionesses will need to be wearing protective gear when they watch the men’s national side face the Netherlands on Wednesday night in the company of their Dutch head coach, Sarina Wiegman.

The women’s squad and Wiegman will be eagerly watching the men’s semi-final as a joint group of staff and players at their team hotel in Norwich, before their Euro 2025 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on Friday, and the players hope their male counterparts can follow in their footsteps and win their first European Championship.

Bright, who captained England last summer as they reached a World Cup final, praised Gareth Southgate’s men’s side’s courage from the spot in their shootout victory against Switzerland, adding: “The penalties were ridiculous. We have full faith in the lads. When you’re a player watching it, you watch it as if you’re in the game.”

On the prospect of watching it alongside the former Netherlands manager Wiegman and her Dutch assistant, Arjan Veurink, Bright added with a wry smile: “We’ve all got our body armour on, don’t worry. We’ll all watch it together. We’ve got a really good environment. We’re all looking to get behind the boys.”

Bright’s England teammate Alessia Russo suggested Wednesday’s men’s semi-final could be win-win for Wiegman and Veurink, adding: “Ultimately they’re Dutch but they have massive love for England too. You’ll have to ask her who she is supporting! I’ve loved being a fan.

“We’ll always back them [the men’s team] all the way. I’m English and I think they’re gonna win it and hopefully they do. All that matters in tournament football is win and progress and that’s what they’ve been doing, even at tough times they’ve been finding ways to win.

“In tournament football, sometimes people perceive the games to be easier than they actually are, and are in that moment. You win and you progress and that’s all that matters.”

Bright and Russo were speaking shortly after a newly refurbished pitch at the national football centre was renamed in honour of Fara Williams, England’s record appearance holder with 177 caps. The pitch is a regular home for England’s women’s Under-23s as well as England men’s Under-21s, and Russo described Williams’s contribution to the sport as “incredible”.

England’s Fran Kirby sat out training for a second consecutive day because of a minor illness while the Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse trained with the group for the first time after arriving from the US on Monday.

Meanwhile, the goalkeeper Lucy Thomas, who was part of the senior England squad for their most recent international fixture, against France, has signed a new contract at Birmingham City to 2025. Nottingham Forest announced that their women’s team – currently playing in the third tier of the English pyramid – will move to a fully-professional, full-time model over the next year, in time for the start of the 2025-26 season.

Header image: [Photograph: David Davies/PA]