Bronze and grit help England beat Sweden
ZURICH - England heroine Lucy Bronze said it was "grit, determination and hard work" that pushed the team to win their UEFA Women's quarter-final against Sweden, as her teammates and coach paid tribute to her action-packed performance.
The defending champions clawed their way back into the match after conceding two first half goals and scoring twice in the second half to take the match at Zurich's Letzigrund stadium to extra time and penalties.
Bronze scored England's first goal, and the Chelsea defender went on to get the decisive goal in the penalty shootout, where England triumphed 3-2.
The team was determined not to lose, Bronze said.
"It wasn't beautiful, but it got us through."
When asked about her own performance, she said: "I just keep going and going and going.
"Hopefully that can just leak into the rest of the team. I think we have the type of team where we can influence each other, to push each other, to go for more."
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Coach Sarina Wiegman and teammate Beth Mead both paid tribute to Bronze.
"Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind. I have never, ever seen this before in my life, and I'm... a very lucky person that I've worked with so many incredible people, incredible football players," Wiegman said.
"What defines her is that resilience, that fight."
Mead, a second-half substitute, also praised Bronze's performance.
"I mean she did it all, and I think Lucy really showed her experience in those moments," Mead said.
"She's our most experienced England player, and I think she was one of the players that very much got that determination out of us all today." REUTERS
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