Lucy Bronze seems undroppable for England – but should she be?

It was another milestone moment for Lucy Bronze.

Her 121st England appearance last night, in the 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, drew her level with Steph Houghton as her country’s seventh most-capped female player. Yet questions remain as to whether the 32-year-old is more of a hindrance than a help to the Lionesses in the long term.

The trip to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium ultimately proved routine for Sarina Wiegman’s side. This was a game which had to yield three points given England’s Euros qualifying group — which also features France and Sweden — is not going to be easy. Only the top two sides are guaranteed a spot in Switzerland next summer, even if the third- and fourth-placed nations will still get play-off opportunities.

But having gone two goals up early on courtesy of Lauren James’ 12th-minute and Alex Greenwood’s 18th-minute penalty, England’s superior quality shone through, even if Ireland pushed them towards the end of the match. 

Wiegman made five changes to the starting XI from Friday’s 1-1 draw against Sweden, but it was notable who kept their place. The front three of Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, and James remained, as did Keira Walsh at the base of midfield and Greenwood.

And there, at right-back, was Bronze. The Barcelona defender’s role for England leading into Euro 2025 is the biggest question Wiegman has to grapple with. In other positions, there are debates about who might be the best choice from an excellent group but, at right-back, Bronze is the inevitable name on the teamsheet due to the sheer lack of competitive options.

There is no doubt of Bronze’s pedigree and it is with England that she has often had her best moments offensively, but defensive lapses have become increasingly notable for both club and country over the past year.

During last year’s World Cup final against Spain, Bronze took a characteristic dribble into multiple players, turning the ball over with the entire right-hand flank free. Olga Carmona exploited that space to score the only goal of the game, with Bronze left standing by the centre circle having not even attempted to track back.

Three months earlier, she was similarly at fault for both of Barcelona’s first-half concessions against Wolfsburg in the Champions League final. She turned the ball over for their opener before sitting off Poland forward Ewa Pajor to give her enough time to send the perfect cross in for their second.

It was clear in that match that Bronze had been targeted and it is an obvious option for opponents to focus on against England. In Friday’s match against Sweden at Wembley, Bronze was up against Barcelona team-mate Fridolina Rolfo and, in the build-up to Sweden’s equaliser, she failed to take a single look over her shoulder to see where Rolfo was, giving the forward a free header. 

The problem Wiegman has is that, even if she wanted to, there is no obvious option when it comes to replacing Bronze. Only Esme Morgan from the current England squad is regularly selected at right-back for her club and she has only played 537 WSL minutes for Manchester City this season. Both her recent appearances for England came at centre-back.

Bronze’s physical capacity to dominate the right-hand side has long been her greatest asset, but it is increasingly clear that she no longer has that athletic capability to balance her offensive instincts with an ability to track back. Her progressive carry numbers per 90 minutes have declined from 4.02 to 2.57 over the past four seasons.

Bronze’s defensive instincts have been questioned (Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images)

The decision to play Jess Carter at left-back against Ireland might hint at where Wiegman thinks she can find the opportunity to cover for Bronze’s deficits. When asked ahead of the game about Carter’s selection, Wiegman referenced looking for a bit more “defensive security”. England had conceded two goals in three of their last six matches and it is clear that the balance between defence and attack is off. 

Niamh Charles has been the first-choice left-back ever since the end of the World Cup, but she is very keen to get forward having been converted from a winger to full-back by Emma Hayes at Chelsea. That has tended to leave England’s centre-back pairing exposed. With Carter on the left, there is more security regardless of what Bronze decides to do.

Given Carter’s versatility, there is no reason that Wiegman could not keep Charles on the left and use Carter on the right. It would match the original system in which Chelsea used them. That would also allow England to more comfortably use a player like James on the right, who tends to give less defensive support as she seeks to get on the ball. 

But Bronze’s selection against Ireland demonstrated that Wiegman has no interest in experimenting at that particular position right now. It is clear that Bronze costs her side goals but, for now, Wiegman seems to feel the upside continues to be worth it.

(Top photo: Jess Hornby – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)