Millie Bright insists England don't have 'individual focuses' heading into Euro 2022 final
By Sean Walsh
England centre-back Millie Bright has said she and her teammates are not going into Sunday's Euro 2022 final with Germany with individual glory in mind.
The Lionesses stand on the verge of their first ever tournament victory and will play in front of a European Championship record crowd - for both the men's and women's editions of the competition - at Wembley.
While England are keen to write a fairytale on home soil, Germany have their own heartfelt narrative too, with star striker Alexandra Popp level with Beth Mead at the top of the tournament's scoring charts despite having picked up a serious knee injury just over a year ago.
Popp came into Euro 2022 as deputy to Lea Schuller, but has regained her place after the Bayern Munich forward tested positive for Covid-19 early in the tournament and has been in inspired form since.
Bright will have her hands full trying to keep Popp quiet on Sunday, but when asked if she would be extra motivated should Mead plea to help her win the Golden Boot, the Chelsea defender reaffirmed Sarina Wiegman's messaging about the importance of the team.
"No, and if [Mead] came up to me speaking about that I would send her back the other way," Bright said with a wry smile.
"We don’t go into games with individual focuses, it is all about the team and ultimately getting the job done and having the ending we all want, but first and foremost we respect Germany a lot, they are a tough opponent and it is going to be one hell of a final for the fans out there, and we’ve got a big job to get done."