Millie Bright departs England stage long after her name entered list of greats | OneFootball

Only two footballers have had the honour of captaining England in a senior World Cup final: the late Bobby Moore and Millie Bright, who announced her international retirement on Monday. That alone ensures the 32-year-old’s Lionesses career will leave an indelible mark on English football. Her entry on to the list of England greats had been guaranteed a year earlier, though, as one of the key heroines of the summer of 2022.

When Leah Williamson prepared to raise the Euro 2022 trophy at Wembley after England’s victory against Germany had secured the Lionesses’ first major trophy, she chose to angle it slightly into the direction of the woman next to her, Bright, her vice-captain, so they could lift it together, acknowledging Bright’s major contribution. As the pair held aloft the 60cm-high trophy, weighing 6.7kg, Bright’s tattooed forearm was centre stage in front of the white fireworks erupting behind them in a colourful scene of euphoria.

When Bright wore the armband a year later in Sydney, in the absence of the injured Williamson, her team were not quite able to add another trophy, but their run to the final was historic nonetheless, in a tournament Bright had done well simply to get to, weeks after knee surgery.

Bright is a player who prefers to do her talking on the pitch. Members of the media covering the Lionesses have not had much insight into her personality, perhaps best shown in July 2023 at a press conference in Brisbane, when Bright was preparing to captain England in their tournament opener against Haiti.

ESPN’s Tom Hamilton asked Bright how it felt to be captaining England at a World Cup; those listening perhaps expected a patriotic or emotional answer, and Bright, focused on the task, said plainly: “Things just stay the same. With or without the armband, my behaviour is the same, my mentality is the same.”

That summer it was also usually others such as Lucy Bronze who spoke publicly about issues such as the team’s dispute with the Football Association over commercial deals. Bright’s captaincy was more about crunching tackles and bruising physical duels, which she usually won.

Before all that, she was a key figure in the generation of England players that transformed how the Lionesses viewed success, being part of squads that reached the semi-finals at Euro 2017 and at the 2019 World Cup as they built towards glory. It is the lifting of a much smaller trophy, though, that perhaps Lionesses fans will most fondly remember when they think back on Bright’s career, after she became something of a cult hero when thrust up front by Sarina Wiegman for an Arnold Clark Cup game against Germany at Molineux in February 2022.

Wiegman’s surprise tactic worked as the defender struck late, with all the composure of a classic centre-forward. The Lionesses recorded a first home-soil victory over Germany and Bright – much to the amusement of fans – collected the golden boot, graciously passed to her by Alexia Putellas after they had tied with two goals each.

Bright scored six times across 88 caps. For long spells it had felt certain she would reach a century. Could she have? Bright opted to withdraw from selection for last summer’s Euros, where England successfully defended their trophy, saying it was “the right thing for my health and my future” because she felt she could not give 100% mentally or physically. She underwent a knee operation and analysed much of the European Championship on a podcast with her best mate, the former England player Rachel Daly.

The decision may forever divide opinion, some praising Bright for highlighting the importance of looking after your wellbeing, while others remain disappointed she chose not to serve her country in Switzerland. Bright later said she was “at peace” with the decision. The main beneficiaries of this retirement could be Chelsea, for whom she continues to play a key role. She will now be able to rest somewhat during international breaks and perhaps extend her career. A Chelsea player since 2014, she has been involved in every major trophy their women’s team have won.

As for England, Bright’s experience is something any international setup would miss, but the time may well be right for younger blood to get a chance and, as attention starts to turn towards 2027, perhaps this is an ideal moment for Bright to pass the torch. It feels pretty unlikely – albeit not impossible – that Bright would have been in England’s starting side for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil; the final of that competition will be less than a month before her 35th birthday.

The future looks – ahem – bright, when it comes to centre-backs in contention for England, whether it be the Manchester United captain, Maya Le Tissier, 23, the emerging Arsenal centre-back Katie Reid, 19, who has impressed so much in the early stages of this season, or Bright’s Chelsea teammate Brooke Aspin, 20, who is recovering from a knee injury. Esme Morgan, 24, has 16 caps, and the 26-year-old Lotte Wubben-Moy still has plenty to offer, and that’s without mentioning the centre-backs who won this year’s European Championship, Leah Williamson and Jess Carter, along with the Manchester City captain, Alex Greenwood. It is not certainly not a problem position for Wiegman who, fitness permitting, appears spoilt for choice.

Header image: [Photograph: Catherine Ivill/UEFA/Getty Images]