Lucy Bronze made her 145th senior appearance for England on Saturday, surpassing Karen Carney to become the third most-capped England footballer of all time. According to reports, she has been England's undisputed first choice at right-back for more than a decade. In the match, Lucy Bronze scored the opener on 23 minutes with a fine header from Taylor Hinds' cross.
Later, Lucy Bronze produced a perfect cross for Georgia Stanway to score a volley with 12 minutes to play. Lucy Bronze took five shots, played 49 passes with 91% accuracy, and helped keep Iceland to one single effort on goal. England manager Sarina Wiegman said, 'She's an incredible human being.
' Sarina Wiegman added, 'She plays a big role in the team - she wants to make the World Cup. ' Karen Carney said, 'That's why Lucy is in the team. She has that mentality, she always demands more and that's why we've won two Euros.
She knows what we need to get to next level of winning the World Cup. ' It is unclear what specific succession plans are being considered for Lucy Bronze's position, though Maya le Tissier started at right-back against Ukraine in midweek. England won 6-1 against Ukraine on Tuesday, with all seven goals in the Ukraine match scored in the second half.
England did not find a breakthrough against Ukraine until the 47th minute. England struggled to break down Ukraine's defence in the first half despite having 40 touches in the opposition box and 85% of the possession. Alessia Russo provided the breakthrough for England two minutes into the second half against Ukraine.
According to reports, Alessia Russo plays as a number nine for England rather than her more withdrawn role for Arsenal. Alessia Russo said, 'We knew we were dominating the ball, we wanted to be ruthless in the final third. They also defended well, then the spaces opened up.
Scoring early in the second half was important. It allowed us to play with more freedom so we want to use that ruthless edge going forward. As long as we are doing our job with our counter-pressure and creating the chances, that breeds confidence.
If the goal comes in the first 10 minutes or last 10, that doesn't matter. ' Sarina Wiegman said, 'It's very important. That's what we showed on Tuesday.
Of course we wanted to score goals in the first half and we did have some opportunities, but the team showed that we could do better. We stuck with the plan and everyone kept doing their tasks together. We didn't start doing things on our own because that doesn't help in those moments.
We just stayed calm, kept doing our task and got some opportunity up front. In the moments where we lost the ball, we won it back so quickly as well. ' Sarina Wiegman says it is 'very important' her team remain patient if the goals do not come quickly, referencing their upcoming match against Iceland on Saturday.
Sarina Wiegman said, 'It's a bit to do with experience and a bit to do with the environment. It is about managing the game too and that comes with a lot of experience. ' Iceland were beaten 3-0 by Spain on Tuesday but frustrated the world champions until the 39th minute.
' Lauren James made her first start since the Euro 2025 final when she went off in the first half having played through injury. Sarina Wiegman said, 'I'm pleased for her, that she's on the pitch and enjoying herself, it brings us joy too. Hopefully she can keep doing that and keep consistent.
We talk with Lauren herself, she is working really hard [to stay fit] and we have a close connection with Chelsea. ' The match against Iceland is at a sold-out City Ground in Nottingham on Saturday at 12:30 GMT.