Millie Bright: Chelsea captain withdraws from selection for Euro 2025 squad
England defender Millie Bright has made herself unavailable for selection for the Lionesses ahead of next month's Euros.The 31-year-old said she made the decision as she was unable to "give 100% mentally or physically."The Chelsea captain recently withdrew from this month's Nations League squad, with the FA saying the centre-back was taking "an extended period of recovery".She becomes the third senior player unavailable for the tournament in Switzerland, after Mary Earps and Fran Kirby both announced their retirements from international football.
Making the announcement on social media, Millie said that it was one of the "hardest decisions" she's ever had to make.She explained: "Football has given me so much, and representing my country has always been my greatest honour."My pride and ego tells me to go, but I think the team and the fans deserve more. Right now I am not able to give 100 per cent mentally or physically."Millie Bright has been an important player for England since making her debut for the senior team nine years ago.She was vice-captain during England's successful Euros 2022 campaign, where the team lifted their first major trophy on home soil.A year later, at the 2023 Women's World Cup, Bright replaced the injured Leah Williamson in captaining the Lionesses.The team made it all the way through to the final, where they finished the tournament as runners-up after losing 1-0 to Spain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
27 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Reform and indy will be at the heart of our debate for years
Of course, by now you already know the result, so you'll know which of the following scenarios and their consequences are the most accurate. But let me start with what the national polls tell us ought to have happened, by-election peculiarities – which I'll come to – notwithstanding. The SNP should have won with around 33% of the vote, down significantly on the 46.2% it won in 2021, with Labour in a narrow second on around 28% of the vote. Reform should have come third with just under 20% of the vote, while the Conservatives should have collapsed to under 10% of the vote. The rest of the vote, around 10%, will have been split among the Greens, Liberal Democrats, and myriad minor parties and independents. But by-elections rarely work out this way, even when the national polls are accurate. Firstly, voters are more likely to have voted in protest than they are at national elections, which may well help Reform in this case. As Jamie, a service engineer from Hamilton, told a focus group run by More in Common, it's 'time to give someone else a chance,' even if he thinks Nigel Farage is an 'a***hole'. Read more by Mark McGeoghegan Secondly, turnout will likely have collapsed. In the Hamilton and Rutherglen West by-election in October 2023, turnout fell by 43% compared to the 2019 General Election. A similar decline here would see around 15,600 voters who would otherwise turn out in a national election stay at home instead. Given that voters turning out to vote Reform as a protest against both the SNP and Labour governments are likely to be more motivated than SNP and Labour voters, this may also advantage Reform. In fact, assuming predictions based on national polling would otherwise have been accurate, Reform's vote will only have to have been marginally more resilient for it to finish ahead of Labour and narrowly behind the SNP. Factor in that first peculiarity of by-election campaigns, and such a scenario is hardly far-fetched. On the eve of the by-election, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accused the First Minister, John Swinney, and journalists of manufacturing Reform's competitiveness in the seat. Nothing could be further from the truth, and a Reform underperformance yesterday will have been more surprising than it coming second. It has demonstrated its strength in a succession of local by-elections, the latest of which saw it beat Labour to come second behind the SNP. Whether or not Reform came second yesterday, its performance will shape the narrative in Scottish politics going into next year's elections in conjunction with its UK-wide polling lead (it has led in 25 consecutive polls going back to the beginning of May) and strong results in recent local elections and Parliamentary by-elections in England. Ultimately, regardless of yesterday's result, the spectre of Nigel Farage looms over Scottish politics. There are three broad scenarios. Firstly, that Reform performed to its Scotland-wide polling, confirming that it is on course to win between 15 and 20 seats in next year's Scottish Parliament election. Secondly, that it did overperform, perhaps coming second, leading to the next 11 months to being dominated by the SNP seeking to present next year's elections as a choice between the SNP and Nigel Farage, and a bitter fight between Reform and Labour for status as the main challengers to the SNP. Thirdly, that it underperformed, in which case the SNP will be quick to emphasise divergence between Scottish and English politics. In any case, the SNP will use the prospect of a Reform government at Westminster to try to increase the salience of the constitutional question, attempting to return independence to the heart of the Scottish political agenda ahead of next year's elections and the following UK general election. It knows that that is its best bet for winning back pro-independence voters who have swung to Labour in recent years. Replacing Humza Yousaf with John Swinney may have stabilised the SNP's support, but the party not really recovered in any meaningful way. The longer Reform leads in UK-wide polls, the more likely that narrative will be to gain purchase among the independence-supporting electorate. Strong Reform showings in Scotland will reinforce the sense that they could win power in 2029; weak performances will emphasise the ways in which Scottish and English politics may be diverging. Both provide hooks for the SNP. The spectre of Nigel Farage looms large over Scottish politics (Image: PA) The bigger question is whether this leads to a change in the constitutional deadlock. Some recent polling suggests that support for independence may have edged up. Norstat recently recorded its first Yes leads in three years, finding Yes ahead by seven points in the wake of Reform's strong showing in the English local elections. Survation still has No ahead by two or three points, down from leads of seven or eight points a year ago. The data is not conclusive, and we should be cautious of hypotheticals around whether developments will change voters' minds – we had enough such polls around Brexit and Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister that never bore out. But the prominence of Reform UK and Nigel Farage in UK politics is a gift to the SNP and the independence movement, regardless of how they performed yesterday or how they perform north of the Border in the coming year. If Anas Sarwar is frustrated with his opponents' and the media's "obsession" with Reform UK, he should get used to that feeling – they'll be at the heart of Scottish political debate for years to come. Mark McGeoghegan is a Glasgow University researcher of nationalism and contentious politics and an Associate Member of the Centre on Constitutional Change. He can be found on BlueSky @
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Freed May admits to uncertain summer
Stevie May has admitted he faces an uncertain summer after the 32-year-old striker was released by relegated St Johnstone and with his loan deal to promoted Livingston at an end. (The Courier), externalRead Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Twenty years on, Ricky Hatton reflects on his signature victory
This week has marked twenty years since Kostya Tszyu and Ricky Hatton met for what was universally considered to be the light-welterweight championship of the world. The odds were against Hatton, 38-0 (29), even at home in the cauldron of the MEN Arena. The 'Hitman' had so far had a career without too many big names, and the assumption was that as Frank Warren's cash cow, the promoter was wisely managing his charge through sell-out fights that carried little-to-no risk. Before Tszyu, Hatton been defending his barely regarded World Boxing Union (WBU) title for four years. The run of opponents in that time had been uninspiring - Tony Pep, Jason Rowland, John Bailey – and the few recognisable names, such as Freddie Pendleton, came in with deeply flawed records (Pendleton was 47-25-5 when he faced Hatton in 2001). There had been struggles, too. Eamonn Magee had knocked down Hatton in the first round in 2002, before the pair went the twelve-round distance. Stephen Smith later that year found himself disqualified when his father pushed referee Mickey Vann after a Hatton elbow cut his son. And then Frank Warren made the Tszyu fight. Tszyu, 31-1 (25) at the time, had the most-feared right hand in boxing. His last fight, seven months before, had seen him deploy it to demolish Sharmba Mitchell in three rounds, knocking his opponent down four times. Tszyu had gone through Jesse James Leija, too, in 2003 and Ben Tackie in 2002. It was an era before the idea of 'going viral' had come into existence, but it seemed somehow that everyone knew that moment, in stopping Zab Judah in two rounds in 2001, that Tszyu had caused his opponent to do a dance like a man learning how to ice skate in the middle of an earthquake. Now, Tszyu was coming to Manchester. Even the Boxing News at the time predicted that the Australian-based Russian would eventually walk down and stop Hatton, probably in the eighth round. In 2025, Hatton reflected on the morning of the fight. As per his habit, he went to a local café in Hyde. 'I went in,' he said, 'and they had all of the newspapers there, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail and The Sun. I picked them up as I'm having my breakfast and I think The Sun had me to get beaten inside two rounds, the Mirror had me not going past six rounds and that it would be over in three rounds by the Daily Mail.' It is hard to describe now, but the atmosphere was something different when Hatton used to fight at the MEN Arena. The sound of the crowd was a character in itself, an aural waterfall that seemed to come down from the rafters of the builders and then explode, spreading along the floor and through the arena. Hatton came out that night to 'Blue Moon' as he always did. He looked nervous on his walk to the ring. Tszyu came second, his friend Russell Crowe – just a few months before the release of Cinderella Man – was ringside. He may have been the only friend Tszyu had in the building. The crowd saw Tszyu, and there was little respect for him. Not like years later, when Marco Antonio Barrera did the same walk to face Amir Khan and people understood then – like they did not with Tszyu – that they were in the presence of greatness. Hatton found something deeper within himself that night, a disregard for everything bad that could happen, a willingness to gamble on something larger than a fight, and he pushed and punched and rough-housed Tszyu. Eventually, the pair went back to their corners at the end of the tenth round. It was hard to see at the time, but it is there when you look at it with fresh eyes. There is a momentary shake of the head from Tszyu in his corner, moments before it cuts to a replay of the round before, where he elects to stay on his stool. The fight is over. If Hatton peaked that night in Manchester, there were still big nights to follow, even if nothing ever lived up to it. Hatton split with Frank Warren, which meant he had to go to Sheffield to face Carlos Maussa five months later. He went to the US after that to face Luis Collazo and Juan Urango in decisions before stopping the ghost of Jose Luis Castillo in four. It was after that that Floyd Mayweather knocked Hatton out, stopping him in ten in what had been a bad night from the start. There was a bit of a comeback after that, beginning with beating Juan Lazcano in front of 55,000 people at the City of Manchester Stadium. Then there was Paulie Malignaggi, a stoppage in eleven rounds in Las Vegas, before Manny Pacquiao starched Hatton in two. And then three years later, there was the fight against Vyachelsav Senchenko that ended with the Hitman, the body puncher extraordinaire, on the floor from a blow to the ribs. Tszyu, meanwhile, retired on his stool, and then took that retirement with him from the ring. He never fought again. Eventually, he moved back to Russia from Australia from where he watched his son Tim begin a career. Hatton, too, has a son who became a professional boxer. Time moves on but in 2025, Hatton still remembers achieving the dream, probably more vividly than anything else in his career. 'I must have left the party at about 7am,' he said this week, 'and when I left, the sunshine was out, you could hear the birds tweeting and people were still singing 'there's only one Ricky Hatton' walking up Deansgate. For my dream win, if I could have written down on a piece of paper as to how I would've wanted it to happen, it couldn't have happened as good as it did.' All of the elements, he says, stacked up. 'My home time in Manchester,' he said, 'a packed arena with nobody expecting me to win and if I did win, it would be one of the best wins in a British boxing ring. And for it to be against a formidable punching machine like he was and to make him quit on his stool, was unbelievable.' Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
