Lionesses star Lucy Bronze would give up every medal she has ever won to get her hands on the World Cup this summer.
The 27-year-old won three FA WSL titles and the FA Cup during her time with Liverpool and Manchester City before moving to France to join Olympique Lyonnais in 2017.
Since then she has added back-to-back French league titles as well as sealing a second consecutive Champions League winners medal to become one of the most decorated English footballers of all time.
But all her accomplishments to date pale in comparison to the prospect of bringing a World Cup home with her in July.
“I would swap my entire trophy cabinet for the World Cup and I think that says it all because the World Cup is the be all and end all,” said the defender.
“If I won one World Cup and nothing else, I would have had a successful career and playing for your country is the highest honour you can have in football.
“It is the biggest tournament you can play in – so with all that put together the World Cup is the one for me.
“Winning it would be huge not just for us as individuals but for the history of football in England – it is everything that we want.”
England will arrive in France with just USA and Germany ranked higher than them in the world and the firm belief installed in them by manager Phil Neville that they can win the tournament.
Bronze made her Lionesses debut back in 2013 and was part of the squad that finished third in Canada four years ago and made the semi-finals of Euro 2017.
Both were impressive performances but as this summer’s tournament looms, the feeling that anything less than a victorious crusade would be considered a disappointment appears to be growing.
“Everything about playing for England has evolved,” said Bronze who was nominated for the Ballon D’Or in 2018.
“It was great back then when I first came into the team but physically we have evolved as well as tactically and mentally.
“We are now going to a tournament and every single player in this squad will tell you that they want to go and win it.
“We all have that belief, we all have the fitness to play at a World Cup, whether that is a group game, semi-final or the final – in every single corner of the game we have evolved.
“Our players are reliable, and they work incredibly hard – everyone here is a team player and we have multiple players in every single position.
“There isn’t just one player to play in one position – there are three or four top players for every position – so we have one of the strongest squads that is going to the World Cup.”
By Sportsbeat
England Women host New Zealand in a ‘Road to France’ international on Saturday, 1 June at Amex Stadium, Brighton, KO 1pm. Tickets available at £10/£1 from www.thefa.com/lionessestickets
