How close was England star Lucy Bronze to playing for Portugal? Lionesses icon's dual nationality and international dilemma - explained

Yes. Bronze was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, in north east England, to an English mother, Diane, and a Portuguese father, Joaquim, thus making her eligible to play for both England and Portugal. Due to her Portuguese roots, Bronze also has the rather notable middle name of 'Tough', which was her mother's maiden name. That's because in Portugal, children take both of their parents' surnames.

Despite being a regular for the England youth teams and for Everton and Liverpool in the early years of the Women's Super League, it took a while for Bronze's first England cap to come. When she was 16 years old, her family was approached by the Portuguese federation and the full-back told her parents that if she did not get her first Lionesses call-up before her 22nd birthday, she would instead represent the nation of her father. "I knew I could go and play for Portugal and I would have loved it as much," she told reporters previously.

However, just four months before that birthday, Bronze finally got picked to represent the Lionesses at senior level after a series of injuries hit the team. She made her England debut on June 26, 2013, in a friendly against Japan in the build-up to that summer's European Championship and has stayed in the frame ever since, winning her 100th cap for her country in October 2022.

In a word: no. Bronze would have been eligible to switch to Portugal even after her Lionesses debut, as it came in a friendly match and appearances in such non-competitive fixtures do not commit a player to one country. However, she is certainly tied to England now, having played over 100 games for England and also in official tournaments, such as the World Cup and the European Championship. Doing the latter is one of several things that ties a player to a country in international football.

There are several players in the England squads, men's and women's, who could have represented other nations. For the Lionesses, defender Jess Carter holds American citizenship thanks to her father, while recent debutante Laura Blindkilde Brown is eligible to represent Denmark through her mother and even had the Danish federation reach out before winning her first England cap.

Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, meanwhile, lived in Spain between the ages of five and 10, training at the Villarreal academy, so could well have gone down a different international route in other circumstances, as striker Alessia Russo, whose grandfather is Italian, also could have.

On the men's side, Jack Grealish and Declan Rice are particularly noteworthy examples, having both played for the Republic of Ireland before changing their international allegiances to represent England. Of the Three Lions' rising stars, Tino Livramento is eligible to play for Scotland and Portugal; Jarell Quansah could represent Scotland, Ghana or Barbados; while Angel Gomes also qualifies for Angola and Portugal. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Conor Gallagher, too, could've played for Ireland, with the latter also eligible for Scotland before he became tied to England.