Lucy Bronze: Lionesses determined to succeed USWNT as leaders 'on and off the pitch' after reaching landmark World Cup bonus agreement

• Lionesses received bonus for WC performance
• Bronze and Bright at forefront of negotiations
• Aiming to inspire like USWNT have done

WHAT HAPPENED? After finishing runners-up at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, members of Sarina Wiegman's squad continued their dispute with the FA over performance-related bonuses they felt they were owed. It has since been agreed that England's players will share a £800,000 ($979,000) payment, after a settlement was recently agreed.

WHAT THEY SAID: Bronze told reporters how she was now happy to move past the situation and hopes to further enhance the women's game as a whole. “We're happy to have been able to draw a line on the bonuses and previous stuff and move forward with the FA and the PFA, making sure that we were challenging women's football. We want to set the standard on and off the pitch to help other countries be able to set the standard. I think it's something that the USA have been doing for many years, and now England is a team that is able to lead the way as well.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Having fought tooth and nail in order to be rewarded by the Football Association, England followed up their impressive tournament down under with a 2-1 win over Scotland in midweek, in their opening UEFA Women's Nations League outing.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR BRONZE? England Women next face off against the Netherlands on Tuesday evening in Utrecht, in their next UEFA Nations League contest (19:00 BST kick-off).