The Rest Is Football: Daly Brightness, co-hosts Millie Bright and Rachel Daly address the news of Bright’s withdrawal from England’s Euro 2025 squad.
Bright spoke in depth for the first time beyond her 4 June Instagram announcement.
Elsewhere in the episode, Bright and Daly discussed how mental health is handled in the locker room — and whether players truly feel able to open up to each other while on the job.
Commenting on the Euro 2025 news shared today, Bright said: “Obviously a really, really big and tough decision. We all have to make big decisions at some point in our lives, not just our careers. And for me at this moment in time, I just don’t feel 100% mentally or physically in a position to go on and compete in a tournament. And listen, I think with the Lionesses and the squad, they have an unbelievable pool of players to choose from. I think we both know how much it takes to be at a tournament and the things that you have to tolerate mentally, physically. The demands of it are incredibly high and I would see it as a little bit selfish to take up an opportunity in a position from somebody else when I’m not 100% there.
It wasn’t an easy decision and one that I take unlikely. It was something that I’d spoken about with friends, family, the people around me, and I gave it a lot of thought. But ultimately, I thought this was the best decision for the team, but also for myself and using this summer to really just zone into mentally, physically, getting myself back in tip-top condition and just happy again, I think, all round, just feeling like myself. So yeah, it’s obviously hard, but I’m going to be the girls’ number one supporter and I know they’re going to go on and smash it.”
Later in the episode, Bright responded to a fan question about whether mental wellbeing is something players can speak openly about in the locker room. She said: “That is a really, really good question. And you know what? When people ask these sorts of questions, it really makes you think… You’ve just asked that and I’m like, oh, I don’t actually know. I’d say players are really good at checking in on each other, but I’d still say when you’re in that environment—like when you go into training—you’re in training mode. So I don’t think, and I can only speak from my experience, but when I go into club, like, obviously everyone’s really close, but then you’ve got your little group—your mates that you always go to every day. We would always make sure to ask, “Do you want a coffee?” and that’d be our time to check in.
But other than that, I’d say in the changing room, it’s actually hard to have those sorts of conversations when you’re at training. Because also, as a player, you don’t want to speak to someone. I don’t want to speak to someone if I think that’s going to get back to the manager, because I would certainly panic and be like, “If my manager thinks I’m not in a good place, then I’m not going to play,” or they think I’m not capable. I also think as a person, when you remove yourself from a work environment, you’re more likely to open up. But I’ve always got therapy outside of training. I’ve never done it through training. I’ve always done it personally and in a private setting. That’s just my personal preference. I don’t think I would ever go at club. I don’t know. When I go there, I feel like I get into my role.”
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