 and Germany (two-time winners). As the Lionesses celebrated their Euros triumph at Trafalgar Square in front of thousands of supporters, not yet 24 hours after lifting their first trophy, sights were already being turned to the next target. Barcelona right-back Lucy Bronze, while hailing the Euros trophy as the best of her career yet, could not resist, adding 'there's still one more we can get our hands on next year', prompting huge cheers from the gathered crowd. Expectation will have only grown after the Lionesses' 2-1 win over the United States earlier this month. Megan Rapinoe and co are reigning world champions and have been England's nemeses, but were deservedly beaten at a packed-out Wembley. For all Daly's understandable talk of 'one game at a time', confidence is clearly high and, as she admits, was a driving force behind their Euros triumph. ' It was definitely confidence. It was by no means arrogance or anything like that. But we knew we had the belief and the talent in the room that was good enough to go all the way,' Daly explains. 'As you could see, how exceptional all of the players are in that group, and beyond – the girls that missed out too, anyone could have stepped in. And you have to look around the room and see what talent you've got and, on any given day, I'd back that team.' And that belief is unlikely to waver before next summer's tournament. A whole new world Whatever happens Down Under next year, the Lionesses – who have yet to suffered defeat since head coach Sarina Wiegman took charge last September – are already seeing their lives change rapidly. Daly is speaking to Telegraph Sport on a busy afternoon where she is preparing for the Pride of Britain awards, which saw the Lionesses recognised w){kind=link}
Lioness on England’s World Cup mission and how life has changed since the summer’s success
Sunday July 31 prompted such a range of emotions for Rachel Daly that she can scarcely remember collecting her medal from the then Duke of Cambridge on the Wembley turf, after she and her euphoric England team-mates had beaten Germany to win the European Championship.
Life has been a whirlwind of newfound fame since then, from glitzy awards ceremonies to fans knocking on her car window. But now, with just nine months to go until the Women’s World Cup, she and the rest of the Lionesses are focused and determined to prove they are far from one-hit wonders.
“We want to show it’s not just a one-off. We want to continue the success,” the 30-year-old tells Telegraph Sport in an exclusive interview, speaking two days after the draw for next summer’s tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. England are in Group D along with Asian Cup champions China, 2017 Euros runners-up Denmark and either Chile, Senegal or Haiti, who will contest a play-off competition in February. Reacting to the draw, Daly says: “There are definitely no easy games in a World Cup. It’s a tough group. China are great, Denmark are great, and it’s going to be a tough group to get out of.”
The Aston Villa star says she is not yet contemplating what it might be like to contest the final in Sydney on Aug 20, as the national team do not want to get ahead of themselves. “I just don’t want to look that far ahead,” she says. “It’s about going day-by-day, step-by-step, and when it comes we’ll be ready. The Euros was a dream come true and so special, but we had to park that almost straight away, because we went straight back into World Cup qualifiers. We’ve still got friendlies and big games coming up so yes our sights are set on the World Cup, but we just keep building in every camp.”