Pressure off England going into World Cup after Euros win, says Bronze

LONDON : Winning the European Championship has taken some of the pressure off England going into the Women's World Cup, full back Lucy Bronze said, despite the Lionesses being touted as one of the teams to beat in the tournament.

England won their first major title last year on home soil, overcoming Germany in the final at Wembley and are looking to improve on their semi-final runs at the previous two World Cups when this year's event takes place in Australia and New Zealand in July-August.

Bronze, in action for Barcelona in their Champions League final against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, said that instead of feeling like England had a target on their backs now, the squad would be more relaxed and could even emulate the record of reigning champions and four-time winners the United States.

"I think every tournament I've been part of after 2015, it was like an expectation that England should be making finals and winning, even though it's something we've never experienced before," Bronze told Reuters in a Zoom interview.

"Whereas now we've been there, we've done that we've won a trophy. We've done it... So the pressure of being of having to win something, it's probably not there as much.

"I think that's something that the U.S. has always helped them in, especially the previous World Cup, where they came up against tough teams. Their experience of knowing how to deal with the pressure and knowing how to win in big games, saw them lift the trophy in the end," the 31-year-old added.

"So I think our experiences are invaluable in that respect and probably takes a little bit of pressure away."

Sarina Wiegman's England, who have only lost one game in 31 under the Dutchwoman, begin their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Brisbane on