England defender Lucy Bronze said the Lionesses are "really excited" to face the United States in a friendly on Saturday, playing up the burgeoning the rivalry between the sides.
The reigning European Champions host the Olympic gold medal winners on Nov. 30 in a "high level" friendly at Wembley Stadium, as Sarina Wiegman's team continue their preparations for the upcoming European Championship in 2025.
"We're really excited to play the U.S.," Bronze told a news conference on Friday. "As long as I've been an England player, it's been one of the most exciting games to play in. We always play them in big occasions. There seems to be a rivalry that's been blossomed out of nowhere over the past decade and we know that no matter what players show up, what players are on the pitch, who the manager is even, it's such a competitive, high-level game.
"As much as there's a rivalry, I think there is that level of respect. I think you get that when you have a rivalry when two teams or any two people even as well, you get to the highest level, I think you understand what it takes to get there. I think as an English team we've always understood that the U.S. have had to do so much to get to where they are."
Bronze was full of praise for their rivals, adding that the USWNT's success inspired the Lionesses in the aftermath of their Euro 2022 triumph.
"They are such a great team both on the pitch and off the pitch, whether that's individuals or as a collective," Bronze said. "I think that's something that we really admire of them and something that I think they've inspired us to do as an England team after winning the Euros, watching what they did and trying to change women's soccer in America and that we had that opportunity in England as well.
"I think we both now bounce off each other in that respect off the pitch. We are friends, we're rivals, we're a community, but at the same time, we still want to beat each other. I think that's the great thing about our game, and with England and America, it's always that high level of rivals, but respect."
The USWNT last faced England in a friendly in 2022 at Wembley Stadium, ending in a 2-1 win for Wiegman's side. This match also marks head coach Emma Hayes' return to English soil after departing Women's Super League champions Chelsea following a 12-year stint. Arguably the most famous contest between the two nations came at the 2019 World Cup, where the U.S. dumped England out of the competition at the semifinal stage with a 2-1 win.
Bronze also admitted that facing the Olympic champions is a good test full of potential lessons for the Lionesses ahead their continental title defence, which begins in July next year.
"I think it's a good level because of the fact that the U.S. have just won the Olympic gold medal," she said. "I think it takes a lot to win a tournament. Obviously, we know that to win the Olympics, you have to be intense, you have to be ruthless, you have to have the crazy mentality.
"I think that sums up the U.S. perfectly, so if we can go toe to toe with a team like that, see the mentality that it takes, learn from any mistakes that we make in the game, maybe learn from them, push ourselves and show what we're capable of as well show what we can do against the top team like that.
"It's going to put us in very good stead for the next six to eight months, however long the Euros is away."