‘It’s an exciting opportunity’ – Chelsea’s Bright pleased to be handed England captaincy | OneFootball

Chelsea defender Millie Bright says that being handed the England captain’s armband for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 qualifiers against Austria and Latvia presents an exciting opportunity.

The 28-year-old centre-back has been handed the captain’s armband by England boss Sarina Wiegman in the absence of injured midfielder Leah Williamson.

Speaking in an England media session, Bright said that the prospect of wearing the captain’s armband is exciting but it won’t have any impact on her mindset.

“It’s amazing,” Bright said. “When Sarina told me, for me no matter what age you are, how many times you have done it before, it is always going to be a huge honour.

“Representing your country and obviously leading the girls out for this camp, it’s an exciting opportunity but for me, nothing changes, the aims are still the same – keep performing well and hopefully leading the team to two more victories.”

While Bright will be tasked with leading the team in the upcoming games, she said that showing leadership skills is something which comes natural to her and she reiterated the fact that having the armband doesn’t change her game.

She added “With or without the armband, I always remain myself, I am the same Millie, the same player, the same person. I like to lead by example with or without the armband, keeping my standards high every day. I am just here for the team to do well, that’s the aim and I think we all have that mentality.

“For myself, here and at club, it is about taking that leadership role naturally and for me, it is important for me to remain me and try not to be anything but me because that’s got me to the position where I am now. Hopefully I can do a good job this week.”

England’s latest FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 qualifier against Austria takes place at The Stadium of Light in Sunderland on Saturday and is scheduled to kick-off at 12.30pm.