Quotes from Millie Bright

The fans have been amazing at Kingsmeadow, and we've really settled in. It's our new home, and we want to embrace that and perform for the fans.

My grandad gives me an honest opinion on the games and my performance. I really respect him for that. He's really helped me develop as a person and a player, and he's always been honest with me, whether I've had a good or bad game, where I need to improve.

You win the physical battle first, and then you win the football. If you try to do the football first and not the physical stuff, that doesn't work.

I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.

My mentality has always been focused around the mindset that you have to earn everything. So even if you get told that you're going to play, I take that with a pinch of salt and respect all the comments, but for me, I have to earn my place.

I definitely want to be successful in the Champions League, having never been involved in it before. It's where the best players prove themselves.

Being vice-captain at Chelsea, I've learned to manage my emotions better this season and have matured massively, but part of that is embracing those feelings of disappointment rather than suppressing them and pretending everything is OK.

I've always looked up to John Terry; he's a massive defender and a rock. His one-v-one defending and reading of the game have really educated me. I watch a lot of clips of him.

When you get the relationships right and get to know each other, it really translates onto the pitch.

You're so emotionally connected to the game that it's hard to switch off afterwards. It's a good time to have open and honest conversations about your performance and what you can improve on next time.

People that know me realise what kind of player I am. I'm a front-foot defender; I like a tackle, but I'm not malicious, and I don't go in to hurt.

What makes me so strong in the tackle? My grandad has always said if you're going in for a ball, you go 100% and you never go in half-hearted.

Pressure is always in the back of your mind, but that's the pressure that drives you on and makes you perform to the best you can be.

We are getting to the point where, like the men's game, playing football is not only a legitimate career but enables you to live really well and can perhaps even set you up for life. It will allow little girls to tell their mums and dads they want to be professional footballers and not have their dreams dismissed so easily.

You win physically, you get momentum, and you get a foot in the game by winning your tackles and being dominant in that area. Then you can start to make your passes.

For us, winning the World Cup is not enough. If you come into the squad, you are not just here for the moment, but you're building that legacy for the next generation.

I'm happy staying in the World Cup bubble with England and eliminating the distractions. Besides, I want to enjoy every minute of this unique experience, and I don't want to look back and think that I was just sat on my phone.

I still can't believe I'm going to a World Cup.

Like many of us in the England squad, I wasn't even born when the men's team played Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup, so I couldn't tell you much about that game.

I'm so proud to represent my country at a World Cup because lots of players don't ever get that opportunity, including our manager, Phil Neville. He's reminded us of all the hard work he put in to try and get there, only for him to never make it past the last hurdle.

Obviously, everyone's journey is different, and we all have different ambitions and beliefs as kids as to whether we're actually going to be able to play in a World Cup and whether it can be a dream that can come true. For me and for my family, it's very surreal.

The 2017 European Championship was my first major tournament for England, but everyone tells me the World Cup is a different level.

Football is my priority. It's a short career, and you have to make the most of it, which is why making the World Cup squad is such a big deal and something I will never take for granted.

I got to a point where I was doing county-level shows, but it was dressage that I really loved where, effectively, the horses are dancing. At one point, I was a groom for Hannah Esberger, who has competed for Great Britain and has seven national championship titles.