England's Lionesses suffered a major substitution blunder on Tuesday, with Lucy Bronze unable to be brought on.
Following on from a 0-0 draw with the USA, Sarina Wiegman's side beat Switzerland 1-0, with Grace Clinton scoring the only goal of the game just eight minutes in.
The clash at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane was a friendly fixture and so plenty of players were rotated in order to get much-needed gametime. However, there was an almighty error of the highest kind as Bronze was not allowed to enter the fray.
Advert
The Chelsea right-back has been an absolute stalwart for the national team, making her debut in 2013 and going on to rack up 127 caps and playing a key role in their UEFA Women's Championship triumph in 2022.
But in a bizarre turn of events, she was unable to add to her appearance tally on Tuesday evening. Bronze was preparing to come on in the 83rd minute and was on the touchline in her kit.
However, she then had to take her shirt off and sit back down on the bench with her coat, hat and bib on. ITV cameras picked up the moment, with Bronze laughing about the unusual predicament as the commentator tried to explain the situation to viewers watching at home.
It was then revealed that Bronze was not listed on the official teamsheet for the fixture because of a "mistake" and so other subs had to be brought on instead.
Advert
"That was the moment where she was not on the list (the teamsheet). There had been a mistake, unfortunately, a human mistake," Manager Sarina Wiegman explained to ITV afterwards.
"We found out there and we still wanted to bring her on the pitch but unfortunately she couldn't go so that was really frustrating, of course the most for herself but yeah, we couldn't change it anymore."
Bronze, a past winner of The Best FIFA Women's Player and UEFA Women's Player of the Year, will be hoping that the mix-up doesn't happen again when England are next in action on 21 February against Portugal in a UEFA Nations League clash.
Topics: England, Sarina Wiegman
Josh Lawless