England star Lucy Bronze has revealed she is playing through pain caused by a knee injury in order to help the Lionesses' bid a first major tournament victory, having netted in a 4-0 semi-final rout of Sweden.
Bronze's header put England two goals up against the Swedes at Bramall Lane, after which Alessia Russo's incredible backheel and Fran Kirby's long-range strike helped the hosts record the biggest ever victory in a Women's Euro semi-final.
Tournament hosts England, beaten European Championship finalists in both 1984 and 2009, will now take part in the showpiece final at Wembley on Sunday.
And Bronze, who scooped FIFA's The Best Women's Player award in 2020, is blocking out the pain in an attempt to help her country to glory, as she played down her last-four goalscoring feat.
"I've just got to play through it," Bronze said. "There are plenty of players who are having to play through pain in their career and I'm now one of them.
"I don't feel like I did a couple of years ago. The Lucy Bronze of a couple of years ago was 'the best player in the world'.
"It's been difficult to come back from a knee injury which has lingered for a very long time and still is now."
Bronze added: "The goals and assists are not something I consider a major part of my game. I'd much rather the likes of Beth and Ellen [White] and Hempo [Lauren Hemp] get on the scoresheet. I enjoyed it, though. I'd not scored in a Euros.
"I'm still happy to be contributing to the team, still playing good football, obviously getting an assist for Beth [Mead] and getting her up there to get the Golden Boot. It would be nice to be part of her little individual journey."
England ended a run of three successive major semi-final defeats with their resounding win in Sheffield, having fallen in the final four at the 2017 Euros and the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
And Bronze believes those painful experiences made Tuesday's win even sweeter, adding: "For players like myself and Ellen and Fran, who've experienced a lot of semi-final defeats, it's nice to get over those defeats, get over the line and finally get ourselves in the final. But it’s certainly not job done."
Meanwhile, England boss Sarina Wiegman has come in for praise after leading the side through an unprecedented 11-match winning streak, the Lionesses scoring 104 goals in her 19 games at the helm.
Bronze believes Wiegman's ability to keep the squad grounded has been a major factor in their terrific run on home soil, adding: "It's just practical information she's giving. I think that being Dutch, she's to the point. She tries not to get carried away.
"It's quite funny that pretty much everyone in the whole of Holland said they've never seen Sarina Wiegman jump around like she did after the Spain game!
"I think she said herself that the Spanish performance was one of the best she'd ever seen – to come through that was amazing not just for the team but for her as a manager and coach.
"In a home Euros there's a lot of emotion and a lot of support. We don't want to get carried away too much and she's one of those people that is very process-driven.
"She's very excited, but once the game's done we're on to the next game. We don't get carried away with our emotions but on and off the field we still enjoy the game and still enjoy the moment at the right time."
Clarke aiming to prove Scotland doubters wrong against in-form Portugal
Steve Clarke is aiming to prove the doubters wrong when Scotland welcome Portugal to Hampden Park in their Nations League clash on Tuesday.
Scotland sit bottom of Group A1 after losing all three of their matches in the competition, the latest of which came in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb.
The loss saw Clarke's side extend their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history to nine (D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years.
Scotland's recent run of form includes their dismal showing at Euro 2024, as they failed to reach the knockout stages for a sixth time at a major tournament, picking up just one point from their three games in Germany, though Clarke remains optimistic.
"It's a tough moment, no doubt about it, but we believe in ourselves," Clarke told BBC Sport.
"After 20 years in the international wilderness, this group has got to two major tournaments and been promoted to the top level of the Nations League, so I don't understand why there would be doubts.
"We have to believe in what we are doing and when I look at the players on the pitch, I believe in what we're doing.
"The players understand where we are in the process, and they are ready to go again.
"They understand that we are playing difficult opponents, and they understand the squad could be stronger.
"I don't speak about that too much, since we have to concentrate on who we have here.
"We have to go out against Portugal, and we know we have to be good at everything we do in the game."
But in aiming to rediscover that winning feeling, they face an uphill task against a Portugal side who have won each of their last seven competitive away games by an aggregate score of 22-1.
Scotland have also lost each of their last four matches against the Selecao, with the Scots only currently on a longer run of defeats against Belgium and Brazil (both six).
But one positive from their display against Croatia was the performance of Ben Doak.
At 18 years and 336 days old, Doak became the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston against Poland in 1965 (18 years and 298 days) against Croatia.
However, Clarke stressed the importance of not piling too much pressure onto the youngster's shoulders so early into his international career.
"We're already starting to grow the next generation of players," Clarke said.
"As well as trying to be good now, I’m trying to leave a group who are ready to carry on. We don't want 20 years after this group without the success we all want.
"We want Ben to be a talent for the next 15 years, not 15 months, so don't put too much pressure on him.
"He's a young man, he will make mistakes in the game, he will do really good things in the game.
"We need to get the balance right between giving Ben the opportunity to play, which he's more than capable of taking, and protecting him a bit, make sure we don't overhype."
Zola surprised by Palmer's Chelsea impact
Gianfranco Zola believes Cole Palmer is a "top player", though he has been surprised by the impact the England international has had since joining Chelsea.
Palmer signed for the Blues at the start of last season and is a hugely influential figure at Stamford Bridge.
He was named the Premier League's Young Player of the Year, and since his debut in September 2023, Palmer has been involved in 44 top-flight goals (28 goals, 16 assists). No other player in the competition has directly contributed to as many goals in that time.
Already this season, he has netted six goals and registered five assists in the league, the most of any Chelsea player, and made history against Brighton, becoming the first player to score four times in the first half of a Premier League match.
And Chelsea great Zola has high hopes for the 22-year-old.
"At the moment he is producing performances and results worthy of a top player, so where he can get, I don't know, because this guy has surprised everyone, especially me," Zola told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"I knew he had good qualities, but doing what he is doing is a surprise for me. And so, I would really like him to continue to surprise both me and the others, so let's hope he continues like this."
Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League and are unbeaten in the competition since their opening-day loss to Palmer's former club Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca is now looking to become only the fifth boss to win each of his first four Premier League away games, with one of the previous four to do so being his next opponent, Liverpool's Arne Slot.
Despite questions surrounding the club before the start of the season, Maresca has seemingly imposed his style of play on the squad quickly, and Zola is impressed with how they have adapted to life under the new head coach.
"I am very happy because beyond the results, which are positive, the team is showing signs of being on the right path," he added.
"There is a structure that is working and then, as they say in England, a 'top of that', that is Palmer, who is continuing to do extraordinary things as he did last year."
Chelsea face league leaders Liverpool on Sunday and will be looking to stay in the mix at the top of the table by claiming their first win in seven against the Reds.
Maresca has shrugged off early suggestions that Chelsea could challenge for the title this season, and though Zola thinks the Blues are competing well, he expects it to be tight in the Premier League.
"Undoubtedly the competition is very strong, very high," he said.
"Liverpool, Arsenal, who have been doing important things for a few years now, City, who will return to their levels, are already at their levels, have had the misfortune of losing a very important player like Rodri, who can be a factor, but [Pep] Guardiola has always shown that he can find solutions, so they will also be there.
"The Premier League is competitive, and Chelsea will have a lot of competitiveness against these teams. However, I repeat, it is encouraging because they are growing well."
Former Liverpool defender Matip confirms retirement after Anfield exit
Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football.
Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career.
The 33-year-old started out at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011.
Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius.
He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets.
However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside.
The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game.
Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph.
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