England’s Bright Future (Millie Bright interview)

Millie Bright might have spent this summer at dressage events rather than a European Championship. Brought up on a family yard near Sheffield, riding from the age of two or three, she left school to work as a groom for the dressage rider Hannah Esberger and intended to teach and compete. Football arrived almost by accident at nine, when she joined in rather than watch a friend play for Killamarsh Dynamos and the manager turned up at the house with forms. Scouted by Sheffield United at twelve and Doncaster at sixteen, she moved from striker to holding midfield and defence, turned Chelsea down once before signing in December 2014, and won a double in her first season. She rang her mother in tears when the Euro squad email came.