Lucy Bronze scored her 22nd goal in 145 senior England appearances against Iceland
Published March 7, 2026 • Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cly2pj43mg4o
By Emma Smith at the City Ground
Lucy Bronze made her 145th senior appearance for England on Saturday, but few of her performances can have been better than this superb all-round display.
The 34-year-old right-back scored the opener on 23 minutes with a fine header following a perfectly timed run to meet Lauren James' cross to ensure England's early pressure paid off.
And with 12 minutes to play, as nerves jangled around the ground amid the Lionesses' failure to extend their advantage, Bronze produced a perfect cross for Georgia Stanway to sweep a volley home and seal three World Cup qualifying points against Iceland.
On the day she surpassed Karen Carney to become the third most-capped England footballer of all time, Bronze showed why she remains the gold standard for the Lionesses on and off the pitch.
"She's an incredible human being," England manager Sarina Wiegman told her post-match media conference when asked by BBC Sport about Bronze's performance.
"She delivers herself and has so much football intelligence, helping the team on and off the pitch."
Bronze has been England's undisputed first choice at right-back for more than a decade, but questions about succession planning have begun to swirl.
She will be 35 by the time of the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, and Maya le Tissier started at right-back against Ukraine in midweek.
But Bronze's display at the City Ground was note perfect. She took five shots, played 49 passes with 91% accuracy, and in defence helped keep Iceland to one single effort on goal - which was brilliantly saved by Hannah Hampton in her only significant action.
It showed Bronze remains integral to Wiegman's England.
"She plays a big role in the team - she wants to make the World Cup," the Dutch coach said.
"She is also still building minutes, but if you deliver like this on the pitch you are still so important."
The woman Bronze overtook in the England appearance standings led the praise for the two-time European champion.
"That's why Lucy is in the team," Carney told ITV Sport. "She has that mentality, she always demands more and that's why we've won two Euros. She knows what we need to get to next level of winning the World Cup.
"I love that she still demands more, she is still an absolute winner."
'I am not frustrated'
While Bronze proved her place in the starting XI remains certain for now, other positions in Wiegman's England side remain up for debate.
In attack, both Laurens - Hemp and James - impressed as they tormented Iceland's full-backs.
James, making her first start since the Euro 2025 final when she went off in the first half having played through injury, showed she can be unplayable when fully fit and feeling her best.
"I'm pleased for her, that she's on the pitch and enjoying herself, it brings us joy too," Wiegman said of the Chelsea winger. "Hopefully she can keep doing that and keep consistent.
"We talk with Lauren herself, she is working really hard [to stay fit] and we have a close connection with Chelsea. Football is a contact sport, but Lauren wants to stay fit and stay consistent in her minutes."
James combined especially well with left-back Taylor Hinds. The Arsenal defender has started four of England's six games since Euro 2025 and seems to be first choice in that role.
Hinds set up James' overlapping run and cross from the by-line which provided the assist for England's opener, however she became less of an attacking threat as the game continued and seemed reluctant to take players on.
James also raises questions over Jess Park's role. She has starred for Manchester United this season on the wing and scored twice from the left against Ukraine.
But in Nottingham, Park was moved into central midfield to accommodate James and was much less impactful.
Alongside her in central midfield, Stanway was excellent as she moved into the top 10 of all-time scorers for England with her 32nd international goal.
Stanway was deployed slightly wider on the left of midfield, allowing her more space to operate and help England keep Iceland under pressure.
This was a routine win for England against a side ranked 16th in the world. But given the hosts had 31 shots and 71% possession, it could have been more.
Given there is only one automatic qualification place from a group featuring European champions England and world champions Spain - who meet at Wembley on April 14 - a bigger goal difference boost would have been welcome.
But with six points from two games and a win in front of a sell-out City Ground in their first home match of 2026, Wiegman was satisfied.
"I am not frustrated at the moment, I am happy with the performance and the camp," she said.
"Iceland are a very disciplined team, I think especially in the first half we did well; we created big chances and it was good we got the first goal. We could have scored more, but it was most important to win.
"Iceland is a dangerous opponent, we took that danger out really well. Of course we want to score more, but the win and clean sheet is key."
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