Dad points out big difference between women and men's football you wouldn't expect

Daily Mirror

19-07-2025

A man has pointed out that there are key differences between men's and women's football, with some chiming in saying that the men's team need to be more like the women
The Lionesses are currently doing England proud once more in the Euros. But with that success often comes comparison to the men's team. One dad pointed out a difference between the men's and women's England teams that nobody expected.
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When England were 2-0 down, Bronze's 79th-minute goal brought back the Lionesses ' incredible comeback against Sweden on July 17, with Michelle Agyemang's equalising goal smashing the back of the net just three minutes later. But Bronze was seen as a legend for way more than just her incredible sporting prowess. She caught the eye of adoring fans who couldn't get enough of her fighting spirit.
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Taking to the Men Behaving Dadly Facebook page, he posted a picture of Lucy Bronze, 33, lying down on the pitch, clearly injured, but addressing her own problem with a bandage.
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He joked: "Oh for f**** sake Lucy, I was so disappointed to see this. What sort of example does it set for kids when you just take care of your own injury?
"A proper professional footballer would just lie there and scream uncontrollably for two minutes until getting the energy to roll around on the floor back and forth while holding one hand in the air to let the referee know that a card was in order, and then just get up and run off as soon as it's clear that no punishment will be forthcoming."
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What he said was clearly sarcasm – as many praised Bronze for how she handled the situation. At the time, Alex Greenwood and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton were being seen to by medics after they collided in the box.
Bronze also needed medical attention. But upon seeing the team's medics already had their hands full, she took it upon herself to just bandage herself up, get back on the pitch, and carry on playing as though nothing else had happened.
On X, someone said that what she did was "so crazy" and not representative of what someone from the men's team might do.
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They wrote: "This image is going to stay with me for a while. Or for life. Lucy Bronze is strapping her own thigh. Shortly after this, she put her head where it was gonna be kicked. Running upon running for 120 mins, not being the youngest *cough* of the squad."
In the comments of the Men Behaving Dadly page, someone said it used to be an insult to say that men were playing like girls, but now the men needed to "take a leaf out of the women's book" and act a little more like them.
A woman praised: "Our nickname for her last night was Lucy 'Get It Done' Bronze". Meanwhile, another said: "I always rated her for a solid, unfazed approach."
Bronze, speaking about her injury, said: "I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game, and I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going".