What Lucy Bronze was thinking before she took crucial penalty in Euros shoot-out | OneFootball

Lucy Bronze lifts her second European Championship in 2025

Lucy Bronze has spoken about how she was feeling during England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final against Sweden – having played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia.

The full back revealed in an interview with ITV that she had taped up her leg because she was feeling a twinge in her adductor muscle – but then removed the tape prior to the penalty shoot-out, because she was thinking: “I can’t even feel my leg right now.”

Bronze added that she was not expecting to have to take a penalty because she knew she was seventh on the list – but as the shoot-out went into sudden death, she stepped up.

“Lucy Bronze is never in pain”

She also talked about how she discovered her leg fracture – having concluded the season with Chelsea and gone to join up with the rest of the England camp.

“I mentioned to the doctor I was in pain, and he said, ‘That’s not right, Lucy Bronze is never in pain.’

“I was like, ‘I know, something’s not right.’

“So we did the scan, found a small fracture. I remember sitting down with the doctor, with Sarina, and we were like, ‘This is the plan, these are the risks,’ and I was just like, ‘If you want me to play for England, I will play through any pain, anything, I’ll do anything, if you need me or don’t need me, just know that I’m ready.’

“That was the last conversation we had about it, and then just went full throttle into the tournament.”

Bronze: I wanted to play for England

Although the injury was not mentioned publicly until the conclusion of the tournament, Bronze said that the rest of the Lionesses squad all knew about it.

“I never wanted any sympathy, I didn’t want to be treated differently. I wanted to play for England as best as I could.

“The preparation was the hardest thing. When I found out, they were like, ‘No, you need to rest and do nothing,’ and I was like, ‘But I’m going to a major tournament, and everybody else is training, not only my team-mates, but all the other teams are, they’re training, perfecting their games.’

“Feeling unprepared is a feeling I’ve not had before. Everybody knows I’m someone who does the extras when maybe other people won’t. I love it.”

And she hailed the Lionesses’ win as an example of their never-say-die spirit – and added that she hopes their legacy will be “resilience, believing in yourself, believing in the people who support you.”