![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/millie-bright-error-vs-haiti-shows-problem-england-must-fix-to-keep-world-cup-hopes-alive/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1_GettyImages-1562707695.jpg&description=Millie Bright made her long-awaited return to competitive action against Haiti however the England captain failed to reach her usually high standards Sixty-four minutes into England's World Cup opener against Haiti, Millie Bright looked to the sky in frustration. The Chelsea centre-back - captaining the Lionesses in the absence of the injured Leah Williamson - had just blazed an effort over the bar, setting up a tense finish at the Suncorp Stadium as England sought to hold on to their precarious 1-0 lead. In many ways, Bright's miss acted as a microcosm of the Lionesses off-kilter showing in Brisbane, and was emblematic of her own mildly disconcerting return to competitive action. Bright's ring-rust should not, perhaps, come as a surprise considering the 29-year-old hasn't featured for club nor country since early March, when she picked up a knee injury in Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final clash with Lyon. The defender's return to fitness has been closely charted in recent months - the sight of her arriving at Wembley on crutches for May's FA Cup Final coupled with news she had undergone surgery to clean out a "bony cartilage lesion' enough to prompt faint stirrings of anxiety among many of an England persuasion. The collective appetite for Bright's swift return was further exacerbated by the sight of Williamson hobbling off the turf at Leigh Sports Village in April with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament [ACL]. Williamson and Bright's formidable defensive partnership - they conceded just two goals at EURO 2022 - has been fundamental to the Lionesses' success under Sarina Wiegman. Lining up at the World Cup without Williamson was already an ominous prospect. Losing her imperious centre-back partner as well would have been verging on the inconceivable. Wiegman has, however, always seemed confident Bright would be ready to face Haiti. And so it proved, with the Dutchwoman confirming on Friday her temporary skipper was available to take on the World Cup debut){kind=link}
Millie Bright made her long-awaited return to competitive action against Haiti however the England captain failed to reach her usually high standards
Sixty-four minutes into England’s World Cup opener against Haiti, Millie Bright looked to the sky in frustration.
The Chelsea centre-back – captaining the Lionesses in the absence of the injured Leah Williamson – had just blazed an effort over the bar, setting up a tense finish at the Suncorp Stadium as England sought to hold on to their precarious 1-0 lead. In many ways, Bright’s miss acted as a microcosm of the Lionesses off-kilter showing in Brisbane, and was emblematic of her own mildly disconcerting return to competitive action.
Bright’s ring-rust should not, perhaps, come as a surprise considering the 29-year-old hasn’t featured for club nor country since early March, when she picked up a knee injury in Chelsea’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Lyon.
The defender’s return to fitness has been closely charted in recent months – the sight of her arriving at Wembley on crutches for May’s FA Cup Final coupled with news she had undergone surgery to clean out a “bony cartilage lesion” enough to prompt faint stirrings of anxiety among many of an England persuasion.