- The bronze medalist could not enter the field of play against Switzerland on Tuesday
- Sarina Wiegman clarified why the defender was sent off the pitch after
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Sarina Wiegman has revealed why England were prevented from bringing in Lucy Bronze in their friendly against Switzerland on Tuesday.
The Lionesses treated fans to a 1-0 victory, courtesy of an early goal from Grace Clinton at Wembley, following their 0-0 draw with the United States.
Bronze is one of England’s most distinguished internationals with 127 caps, more than any current Lioness, but officials did not allow her to add another feather to her cap.
Wiegman tried to bring on the defender in the 83rd minute, but the 33-year-old was returned to the bench with a bewildered expression.
‘That was the moment when she was not on the list (the team’s official record). Unfortunately an error has been made, a human error,” explained Wiegman.
“We found out there and we still wanted to bring her to the field, but unfortunately she couldn’t go, so it was very frustrating, of course, especially for her, but yeah, we couldn’t change it anymore.”
Lucy Bronze seemed bewildered when she was not allowed to play against Switzerland
Sarina Wiegman explained that she had not been officially registered in the team file
Wiegman had been asked to rotate his team and made 10 changes from the one that was stuck with the United States, coached by Emma Hayes.
Clinton repaid their faith with her third international goal in five appearances, just one shy of what she scored in the WSL last season.
The Manchester United star had England ahead within 10 minutes, firing home from close range after a well-worked set piece bounced off the post.
“I’m happy with the victory,” Wiegman said England in the last match of 2024. “In the first half we played very well, we challenged them all the time. We played mainly in their field, created chances and scored a goal.
“I was very happy with that because we wanted to do with a very young team, some debutants and some starters for the first time in (a while) who had not played for us.
“So we made a lot of changes, but I felt like it was a really good first half.” I think that in the second half our level dropped. We were more careless. We didn’t find the pockets well enough. So it was a little more difficult.”
The Lionesses’ first mission in 2025 will be against Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.