England fans go wild for Lucy Bronze: ‘The very definition of f**k it, I’ll do it myself’
Lucy Bronze taped her own leg during the England-Sweden match. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty)
Lucy Bronze taped her own leg during the England-Sweden match. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty)
Queer Lioness Lucy Bronze is officially the people’s princess after her incredible performance and game-winning penalty at last night’s (17 July) tense Euros game against Sweden.
The battered and bruised 33-year-old right back, who is a proud and out member of the LGBTQ+ community, represented the Lionesses’ fighting spirit as she wrangled the team through to the semi-finals, where they’ll face Italy on Tuesday (22 July).
When England were 2-0 down, Bronze’s 79th-minute goal reawakened the Lionesses’ comeback, with Michelle Agyemang’s equalising goal coming just 3 minutes after.
Football fans are celebrating Lucy Bronze’s determination, which was showcased throughout the game. However, her sporting greatness was clear in one particular moment.
In the penalty box, medics looked after Alex Greenwood and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton after a nasty collision. However, Bronze also needed medical attention. But, upon seeing the team’s physio had their hands full, she took it upon herself to tape up her hamstring on her own. Then, she got back up and carried on.
Fans were in awe of her commitment. “This was so crazy,” one viewer commented alongside the video of Bronze casually tending to her leg.
In the replies, fans added their praise: “My fighter” and “She is an incredible player. This just adds to her lore!”
Another viewed shared: “This image is going to stay with me for a while… Or for life. Lucy Bronze strapping her own thigh. Shortly after this putting her head where it was gonna be kicked. Running upon running for 120 mins not being the youngest *cough* of the squad.”
“I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game and I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going,” Bronze said about her injury.
However, that wasn’t the end of the drama for her night. After a nail-biting 90 minutes plus extra time ended in 2-2, it all came down to gruelling penalties.
After a truly sickening six penalties for the Lionesses, Bronze stepped up.
“I thought, it’s going to hinder me in a penalty,” she explained about the decision to remove the tape. She quickly unwound the bandage on her hamstring.
“I didn’t expect it to go to the sixth penalty, and then it was my penalty. I thought, I need to take this off. I’m going to actually smack it.”
Proudly wearing the rainbow captain armband, Bronze smashed her penalty straight into the roof of the net.
“Lucy Bronze, the very definition of f**k it, I’ll do it myself,” one fan posted after the game.
Another yelled (via X): “THERE’S A REASON WHY SHE WILL ALWAYS BE ONE OF THE GREATEST OF THIS GAME: LUCY F**KING BRONZE.”
“Lucy Bronze the woman that you are,” Chelsea Women’s team shared online about one of their own.
“Lucy Bronze took that penalty like she was sick of their s**t and said let me shut this down rn,” one fan posted after the squad won.
“Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind, I have never, ever seen this before in my life,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said after the exhausting match.
“I’m a very lucky person that I’ve worked with so many incredible people and incredible football players, and there are so, so many, but what she does and her mentality, and how she did that penalty and the goal, at the far post, she gets it in the net. But that’s not what defines her.
“What defines her is that resilience, that fight. I think the only way to get her off the pitch is in a wheelchair.”
Fingers crossed that Bronze gets gold!
You can read more on the Women’s Euros here.
