Millie Bright makes Lionesses 'legacy' claim after England reach Euros final
Euro 2022 winner Millie Bright believes another victory for the Lionesses would even further change perceptions of women's sport in England. Bright has been watching from a distance after ruling herself out of contention for Sarina Wiegman's squad shortly before the tournament.
In Bright's absence, Jess Carter, Alex Greenwood and Esme Morgan have all been given minutes at centre-back alongside captain Leah Williamson. There have been rocky moments, with Sarina Wiegman's team only leading for a couple of minutes in the knockout stages, but they came through matches against Sweden and Italy to leave themselves on the verge of history.
'To win two Euros back-to-back would add to the legacy and give the next generation in the squad confidence, but I think it would also change the country's perception on women's sport yet again," Bright said. "It could promote women's sport again, even more so than it did before.
'It would open up new doors, new opportunities, and again provide the opportunity for us to demand more in the women's game and like I said, not only in women's football but in women's sport generally.'
England have already laid down a marker by reaching a third straight major tournament final after winning Euro 2022 and coming up short in the 2023 World Cup. And they knew before the second semi-final kicked off that they would face a rematch - either against 2022 opponents Germany or 2023 rivals Spain.
Bright's England and Chelsea team-mate Lucy Bronze revealed the centre-back was one of those to message her after England kicked off the tournament with a defeat to France. The Lionesses have rebounded in style since then, though things haven't been straightforward.
'I'd love us to stop going to extra time!" Bright added. "It gives me too much stress and anxiety, but I'm so proud of the girls.
'There was a lot of chat about having an inexperienced group and having more youngsters than senior players, but the kids have really come through. I think we've been the best team at the tournament in terms of everyone playing their role and the subs coming in and making a difference."
Bright was speaking at thhe launch of TikTok's #summerskills campaign, which is designed to teach teens new skills during their summer holidays. She has been on hand for the football aspect of the campaign, but youngsters are also getting support with science, literature and music.
'That's the beauty of the summer skills, it's not just about sport," she said."It's what you can take away from that into your life and what the kids can develop in whatever their passion is and what their dreams are.'
Millie was talking at the launch of the new TikTok campaign #SummerSkills, a new in-app programme designed to support parents and empower teens to learn new skills with famous faces during the summer break.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Ballon d'Or nominee Scott McTominay is best Scottish success in 40 years
It's all about the company you keep. There he was, Scott McTominay, rubbing shoulders with Jonny Evans, Altay Bayindir and Toby Collyer while barely anyone paid attention. The day of his last active service as a Manchester United player and he was in with the substitutes yet again. There or thereabouts, neither essential nor indispensable. An option. A solid squad guy. The story of his United career as far as too many managers were concerned. McTominay saw a wee bit of the action that day last August, given the last 11 minutes when Bruno Fernandes had done his bit in a league game at the Amex Stadium. Brighton & Hove Albion scored a 90th-minute winner and that was it, the flat and unheralded end of McTominay after a 22-year association with United. There were just over 250 appearances over nine seasons and many more debates about whether a) you needed a guy like him to win a league or b) having someone like him suggested you never would. Some respect and some ridicule. By the time United were being battered 3-0 at home by Liverpool a week later, their spare-part, overlooked talent had begun the gear change to end them all. Now? Scott McTominay, Ballon d'Or nominee, officially one of the best footballers in Europe, a line to make a United fan choke on their cornflakes. A nomination as the final act and recognition of a debut season that became absurdly fantastic and rewarding. A guy could get lost in Naples, drowned by the fanaticism and pressure of delivering for one of the most suffocating and intense fanbases in football. Instead McTominay rose to become an icon, a figure far greater than most could have imagined possible across the years when English football largely dismissed him as a limited utility guy, useful to have around without being front-of-house material. Italy got the surging, unbridled McTominay 2.0. A dozen goals in 34 league games for Napoli, and the city that idolises Diego Maradona happily made headspace for a new darling. Barely a week went by without news emerging of some startling new McTominay goal or triumph. He is a Serie A champion, the most valuable player of the Italian league season, the recipient of player and goal of the month awards, and now he has a puncher's chance in the Ballon d'Or. Perhaps this will be the year of Ousmane Dembélé as a driving force for Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. The Barcelona pair Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are heavyweight candidates too. The Premier League is represented by Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Viktor Gyokeres, Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Chelsea's Cole Palmer. England men Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are on the list too. In terms of sheer impact and emergence over the season, only the 18-year-old Yamal surpasses McTominay. It's about the company you keep. It seems reasonable to wonder if he will ever stop growing. Over the course of a couple of years, about a decade ago, he spurted from a runtish 5ft 6in to a strapping 6ft 4in. It was the making of him as a footballer. At 28 he has grown again, in profile and celebrity this time. This news underlines his status as the biggest star in the Scotland team — sorry Andy Robertson, sorry John McGinn — and by one measure the biggest success story the country has produced in nearly four decades. OK, 'produced' is doing some heavy lifting given he was born and raised in Lancaster and has never played a minute in Scottish club football, but his dad, Frank, from Helensburgh, shaped where his boy's allegiances lie. The old European Footballer of the Year award, as it was known, has been won only once by a Scottish player. After Denis Law's great achievement in 1964, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, Billy Bremner, Graeme Souness and Gordon Strachan all received subsequent nominations and Kenny Dalglish was runner-up in 1983. The last Scot to get on the shortlist was Ally McCoist in 1987. That's why McTominay's nomination is a big deal. It's amusing to think that when the first approach came from Napoli the depth of his connection to United — he has always been painstakingly respectful since his departure — meant there must have been a moment when he considered staying there. Maybe give it one more go, maybe see if Erik ten Hag could be convinced. Not every move works out, not everyone gets a reward for uprooting and throwing themselves headfirst into an entirely unfamiliar culture, but McTominay's decision transformed his career and his life. Let's just assume that as he sits with his feet up of an evening, looking out as the sun sets across the Bay of Naples, he isn't losing too much sleep about whether he ought to have stuck around at Carrington. Of course, letting a Ballon d'Or contender go for just £25million and then having their worst season in years felt very Manchester United. He is his own man now. Last month he rocked up at Wimbledon, cutting a dash in cream slacks, a navy blue blazer and sunglasses. He has always been image-conscious and no doubt he'll cut an immaculate figure and look similarly Hollywood at the Ballon d'Or ceremony on September 22. Scots and Neapolitans will be together in willing him on. One lot, you can guess which, proudly shouting: 'Gaun yersel, big man!' Nominees for 2025 Ballon d'Or award Men's nominees Ousmane Dembélé (PSG & France) Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG & Italy) Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England) Désiré Doué (PSG & France) Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan & Netherlands) Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea) Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway) Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal & Sweden) Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Morocco) Harry Kane (Bayern Munich & England) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia) Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland) Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina) Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan & Argentina) Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland) Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid & France) Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal) João Neves (PSG & Portugal) Pedri (Barcelona & Spain) Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England) Michael Olise (Bayern Munich & France) Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil) Declan Rice (Arsenal & England) Fabián Ruiz (PSG & Spain) Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands) Vinícius Jr (Real Madrid & Brazil) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) Florian Wirtz (Liverpool & Germany) Vitinha (PSG & Portugal) Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain) Women's nominees Lucy Bronze (Chelsea & England) Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride & Zambia) Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona & Spain) Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea & France) Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal & Spain) Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich & Germany) Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit & Italy) Steph Catley (Arsenal & Australia) Melchie Dumornay (Lyon & Haiti) Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current & Malawi) Emily Fox (Arsenal & USA) Cristiana Girelli (Juventus & Italy) Esther González (Gotham & Spain) Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona & Norway) Patri Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain) Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras & Brazil) Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England) Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich & Denmark) Lindsey Heaps (Lyon & USA) Chloe Kelly (Arsenal & England) Marta (Orlando Pride & Brazil) Frida Leonhardsen Maanum (Arsenal & Norway) Ewa Pajor (Barcelona & Poland) Clara Mateo (Paris FC & France) Alessia Russo (Arsenal & England) Clàudia Pina (Barcelona & Spain) Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain) Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea & Sweden) Caroline Weir (Real Madrid & Scotland) Leah Williamson (Arsenal & England) Men's coach of the year nominees Antonio Conte (Napoli) Luis Enrique (Paris St-Germain) Hansi Flick (Barcelona) Enzo Maresca (Chelsea) Arne Slot (Liverpool) Women's coach of the year nominees Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea) Arthur Elias (Brazil) Justine Madugu (Nigeria) Renee Slegers (Arsenal) Sarina Wiegman (England) Men's club of the year nominees Barcelona (Spain) Botafogo (Brazil) Chelsea (England) Liverpool (England) Paris St-Germain (France) Women's club of the year nominees Arsenal (England) Barcelona (Spain) Chelsea (England) OL Lyonnes (France) Orlando Pride (United States)
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Tommy Fleetwood one off the pace after opening round in Memphis
Tommy Fleetwood shot an opening round of 63 to sit one shot off the lead in the FedEx St Jude Championship. Fleetwood's seven-under-par round in the first of the season-ending FedEx Cup events left him trailing American Akshay Bhatia in Memphis. English duo Harry Hall and Justin Rose were alongside American Bud Cauley in a tie for third after opening with 64s. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and England's Matt Fitzpatrick are five shots off the pace, alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler who played his first tournament round since winning the Open at Royal Portrush. Bhatia eagled the 16th hole and closed with two birdies to edge ahead with an opening 62, Fleetwood also finishing strongly with four closing birdies. 'I hit the ball so well off the tee that I was always giving myself an opportunity,' said Fleetwood, who found 13 of 14 fairways. Rose built his round on five birdies in six holes around the turn before dropping a shot on the 13th. Only the top 70 in the season-long FedEx rankings have qualified for the event – although Rory McIlroy opted not to play this week – with the top 50 after the tournament reaching next week's BMW Championship. The top 30 after that will contest the Tour Championship in pursuit of a 10million dollar (£7.4million) bonus.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Manchester United agree £73.3m deal to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig
Manchester United have agreed a £73.3m deal with RB Leipzig to sign Benjamin Sesko. The striker will join on a five-year deal and become Ruben Amorim's fourth summer signing. Newcastle had battled Manchester United for the striker and offered a similar package to the German club but Sesko preferred a move to Old Trafford. United will pay an initial £66.3m and the rest in potential add-ons for the 22-year-old, who scored 13 times in the Bundesliga last season. Sesko will travel to Manchester and undergo a medical before finalising the move. The arrival of Sesko will take United's spending to a possible £214m, after the signings of Matheus Cunha, Diego León and Bryan Mbeumo. Sesko will be an integral part of Amorim's front three, along with Cunha and Mbeumo, as United aim to improve on their 44 goals from 38 league games last season. It will be the first time Sesko has played professionally outside the Red Bull group of clubs. He moved to RB Salzburg as a teenager from his native Slovenia, where was playing for Domzale. An immediate loan to Liefering, Salzburg's reserve team in the second tier, was highly beneficial and he spent two seasons, scoring 22 goals in 44 appearances. Salzburg gave the imposing Sesko his Austrian Bundesliga debut in January 2021 and two and a half years of impressive goalscoring form resulted in the natural move to Leipzig. Sesko won three titles during in Austria – though he made meaningful contributions only to the second and third – and became a Champions League regular, netting six times in 28 appearances in the competition. The 6ft 5in Sesko, who has 41 caps, is aggressive in the air but also offers pace and clinical finishing. He is not the finished article but has shown great potential and Amorim will be eager to mould him into the striker he desires after watching the struggles of Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion United could still move for a central midfielder but sales will be important after the heavy spending. The arrival of Sesko will throw the future of Højlund into doubt. United are open to selling or loaning the striker, although they would want his wages covered and a fee paid for the latter. The club are still trying to offload Antony, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Tyrell Malacia.
