Lucy Bronze is buzzing to be heading ‘home’ to Lyon with the Lionesses.
The England defender was in stunning form on Thursday, as Phil Neville’s team cruised through their quarter final with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Norway.
After taking a 2-0 lead before the break, it was Bronze’s thumping second-half strike which put the game out of reach for Norway to send England into the semi-final for a second successive World Cup.
And they will now face either France or USA in Lyon, the city in which Bronze plays her club football, which will be a special moment for the Berwick-born star.
“I've been dreaming of playing in Lyon and getting to that semi-final again, I think all that pressure and passion came out in that strike,” admitted Bronze, who also scored against Norway in the knockout stages in Canada four years ago.
"I said when I signed for Lyon two years ago that the dream was to play in Lyon and at Lyon's stadium in the World Cup - I've had to wait two years for that dream to come true.
“So I'm super excited to be heading to Lyon - home - it's a stadium I love playing in and it's a city that I love.
“We'll have to raise our game against France or the USA, they're going to be a top team, but we know we can match up against either one of those teams.
“We're excited to head to Lyon, get some rest and watch the rest of the quarter-finals."
Neville was full of acclaim for the former Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City right-back after the match, heralding her as one of the world’s best.
With her marauding runs down the flank proving a crucial part of England’s attack, Bronze’s strike illustrated her shooting ability too as a clever free-kick from skipper Steph Houghton caught out Norway to set her up.
Good morning @Lionesses fans! 😍pic.twitter.com/9WuZei2giz
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 28, 2019
And she revealed that set pieces are proving a crucial element to England’s game plan.
“We practise them a lot,” she explains.
“We saw Alex Greenwood's goal in the last game, something that we'd worked on.
“Today was something we'd worked on quickly this morning. At the end of training we were having a few shots and practised that one.
“We saw the space was there and I had to hit the ball right and it was going to go in the back of the net. Thankfully I did that."
France and USA meet in the second quarter final on Friday evening, a game viewers in the UK can watch live on the BBC.
