Cliff Notes – Spain deflecting pressure by dubbing England favourites – Bronze
- Lucy Bronze asserts that Spain is attempting to shift pressure onto other teams by labelling England as the favourites for the European Championships.
- Despite a strong start with two convincing wins, Spain acknowledges that the pressure lies with England as the reigning champions, according to their players.
Euro 2025: Spain deflecting pressure by dubbing England favourites – Bronze
England defender Lucy Bronze said Spain are just trying to deflect the pressure on to other teams by claiming the Lionesses are the favourites to win the European Championships.
World champions Spain are strongly fancied to lift the trophy for the first time in their history in Switzerland this summer, especially after starting with 5-0 and 6-2 wins over Portugal and Belgium, respectively.
However, the message from the Spain camp over the past few days has been that England, as the current holders, should be considered the favourites.
“Yeah, because [Spain] don’t want to say that about themselves,” Bronze said after England’s impressive 4-0 win over Netherlands on Wednesday in Zurich. “I think they’re just trying to put different pressure on different teams.
“I mean, everybody talks about Spain. I think England are up there; obviously France are a top team. Germany, Sweden … There’s so many. But yeah, I think everybody wants to pass it to somebody else just to not make too much noise around them. It’s the same for us.”
England’s defence of the trophy got off to the worst possible start when they lost to France last weekend, but they responded well with a resounding victory against the Dutch.
Despite that, they have still not booked their place in the quarterfinals yet, with a result needed against Wales in their final Group D game on Sunday to ensure their passage to the knockout rounds.
“We want to just be present in what we’ve got to do,” Bronze added. “We have not even got through the group yet, whereas many teams already have qualified.
“So I think that’s our focus rather than, you know, what other teams say about us or who is the favourite.”
Spain forward Lucía García told ESPN on Wednesday that 2022 winners England should be considered the favourites.
“I think putting pressure on ourselves [to win the tournament] would be to hold ourselves back,” the Monterrey striker said. “I think the pressure is when you’re the reigning champions, which is England.
“So, I think the pressure at this tournament is more for the holders, who have done it before. We’re just focused on ourselves and trying to give everything to get through each round and go as far as possible.”
García’s comments echoed what had been said a day earlier by winger Athenea del Castillo.
“We don’t see ourselves as favourites,” the Real Madrid player said in a news conference. “We want to go as far as possible, but for me the favourites are always the current champions, which is England, so they are the favourites.”
Spain and England have met in many big games in recent years.
England beat Spain in the quarterfinals three years ago on route to winning the competition, but La Roja exacted revenge a year later by winning the World Cup final in Australia.
The two teams also met in the recent UEFA Nations League, with England winning 1-0 at Wembley in February and Spain gaining a 2-1 victory in Barcelona last month.