Lioness Bronze always had 'eye of the tiger'

Lioness Lucy Bronze roared after scoring in England's quarter-final penalty shoot-out

England footballer Lucy Bronze always had the "eye of the tiger" with her determination to succeed, one of her early coaches has said.

The 33-year will line-up against Italy later in the semi-finals of the Women's Euro 2025 tournament having helped her country come back from two goals behind in the previous round.

Taking part in her seventh major competition, defender Bronze is one of England's most successful players.

Ryan Jobson, who helped oversee her training at Alnwick in Northumberland more than 20 years ago, believes her talent was "obvious straight away".

He told BBC Radio Newcastle he first became aware of the her when she was one of only a handful of girls to attend a football camp.

A young Lucy Bronze (second right) and fellow player Danni Pope attended training camps in the United States with the help of Shaun and Ryan Jobson

"She came along with her brother. She wanted to impress and to train. It was a fantastic week.

"At the end of the camp we were playing in a game. I remember getting the ball in the middle of the field and getting wiped out in a tackle.

"I thought it was my brother Shaun [but], as I looked up, there was Lucy looking down at me as if to say 'come on, get up'.

"From a young age, she had it. One of her middle names is Tough. She's very tenacious and resilient."

'Best in the world'

Jobson, who runs the Trident Soccer group with his brother, recalled how the pair helped Bronze get involved with training camps in the United States before she moved there aged 17 having won a scholarship with the University of North Carolina.

She later went on to play for Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Lyon and Barcelona and is currently with Chelsea, having won five Champions League trophies, nine league titles and six domestic cups.

Jobson and Bronze are still in contact

Jobson said he was proud seeing Bronze score England's first goal against Sweden in their quarter-final comeback on Thursday before finding the net again in the penalty shoot-out.

"That game the other night was wonderful. It was great to see how much Lucy drove that team forward.

"It was eye of the tiger stuff out of Rocky. She galvanised the team.

"You can see from the moment the referee blows the whistle she wants to keep driving them forward.

"For me, she's the best female footballer in the world."