Fara Williams column: Why Manchester United star is ready to step up for Lionesses after 'sad' Millie Bright retirement
Published 17/10/2025 at 21:23 GMT+1
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In her latest exclusive column for TNT Sports, England legend Fara Williams breaks down her thoughts on Millie Bright's retirement from international football, and why one of Manchester United's star players is ready to step up in her place. She also explains the reason why Liverpool are struggling for form ahead of their Premier League clash against fierce rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
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Former England international Fara Williams will be providing exclusive insight and analysis for TNT Sports for the 2025/26 campaign. In her latest column, she explains why one of Manchester United's players is ready to take her chance following Millie Bright's retirement from international football. Williams also breaks down why Everton loanee Jack Grealish might be more concerned than Jude Bellingham regarding a spot in England's World Cup squad next summer. Watch the women's and men's FA Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
I had a 'sad feeling' about Bright's retirement
I was not surprised when Chelsea defender Millie Bright announced her retirement from international football.
Once she decided not to take part in the Euros, I had a sad feeling that she wouldn’t return to the England national team.
When she made that decision in the summer, Millie probably decided then that her time with the Lionesses was over.
I think she has weighed up her options following her successful knee surgery, which gave her time to decide and dedicate the rest of her career to club football. The demands of international football are far greater now than during the early part of her career.
I can certainly relate to her in terms of knowing when it is the right time to step away. My retirement from football happened through illness, so it was taken out of my hands, but it’s such a difficult decision to walk away from the game.
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It’s not easy because I represented England for 19 years and played at the top level for 23 years and when you retire, you have to start something different and it’s scary. You don’t know what’s going to happen next, and you lose that day-to-day routine.
It’s really difficult for anyone, but you know yourself that it’s time to step away, especially when you see younger and fresher players that you can’t keep up with.
When you’re a winner, and you’re used to leading as an example off the pitch as well as on it - it becomes even harder when your role involves more off-the-pitch work.
As an England fan, I would’ve wanted her to play forever, but Millie thought it was the right time to step away, and she’s had an incredible international career.
She won the Euros with the Lionesses and helped them reach a World Cup final, and I’m sure she’ll be their biggest fan when she watches on from the sidelines.
When you think of out-and-out old-school defenders, there’s no-one better than Millie. She’s a no-nonsense player who puts her body on the line and can play well with the ball at her feet.
Le Tissier deserves chance for Lionesses
After Sarina Wiegman announced her England squad for the upcoming international break, I thought that now is the right time to give Maya Le Tissier an opportunity in the starting line-up.
She has been in the squad for a while and hasn’t been given a chance, even though she’s one of the most consistent defenders for Manchester United in the WSL.
With the Lionesses, she is seen as a right-back, but I actually think she needs to be played at centre-back for her true qualities to shine.
With Millie Bright retiring and Leah Willamson out injured, it would be a great chance to start Le Tissier at the back to see what she can do at that level.
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Maya Le Tissier celebrating her winning goal in the Champions League.
Image credit: Getty Images
She has proved it at her club, but playing international football is another level and until she is given the opportunity, we will never know if she can handle that expectation.
I was lucky enough to coach her when she was in the under-23s and I thought she was someone who would have a bright future in the WSL and then on the international stage.
She has captained a big club like Man Utd so she has shown her leadership abilities, and if England start to play her as a centre-back, we’ll start to see more convincing performances from her.
She has a similar mentality to Lucy Bronze. I don’t think anyone will ever have the same mindset that has allowed Lucy to reach the top level, but there are similarities in terms of wanting to be the best and doing the extra work in order to keep improving.
Maya wanted to be the fittest player, determined to be the first and last one out on the training pitch, and she was always asking questions.
She was an easy player to coach because she wanted to learn so much and those players are the ones who can go a bit further in their careers.
Grealish should be more worried than Bellingham
It was great to see England qualify for the World Cup finals, but now attention will be focused on who will be on that plane next summer.
There was a lot of noise around Thomas Tuchel's decision to omit Jude Bellingham from the squad, but I think we can all agree he made the correct decision because the midfielder didn’t have enough minutes for Real Madrid leading up to the games.
I think the reaction around Bellingham has been overblown. It was a brave decision from the manager, but he also left out Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
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England have to learn to win games without these top players, but I’m sure that Jude will be part of the England squad going to the World Cup next summer.
I thought Grealish deserved a place in the squad because of his recent performances since joining Everton on loan from Manchester City.
He looks like he is motivated, and I think he would’ve been more surprised than Bellingham to see his name off of that list, and he is probably thinking, 'what more do I have to do to get called up to the squad?'
Alexander-Arnold's absence is hurting Liverpool
I’m excited about the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield.
If Liverpool don’t win on Sunday, there will be more questions around them because the expectation is higher for the reigning Premier League champions than Manchester United.
Florian Wirtz arrived for big money, but he still hasn’t found his rhythm within the team and I feel that Liverpool lose something in the midfield when he does play, while Mohamed Salah hasn’t hit the ground running yet this season.
I think Liverpool have also realised that losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in the summer was a massive loss.
The impact that he had on that team cannot be understated with the way he contributed with assists and the way he set up attacks on the right-hand side.
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Everyone used to question Trent’s defending and there were times when he was exposed, but overall, you can live with that due to his impact at the other end of the pitch.
Liverpool have tried to make up for it by playing the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai there while Jeremie Frimpong is still trying to find his form.
I think that Liverpool fans are quickly realising how good Trent was and the importance of his influence on the team.
They haven’t managed to solve that problem at right-back yet, and I don’t think Arne Slot knows his best team following the influx of signings this summer.
Liverpool are lacking balance right now, but Sunday is a perfect chance to put their losing streak behind them in front of their fans in this massive match.
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