England Lionesses: All we know about North East star Lucy Bronze

The England Lionesses captured the hearts of a nation on Tuesday night as they thumped Sweeden 4-0 at Euro 2022 to reach their first major women's tournament final since 2009.

Sarina Wiegman's side will play either France or Germany in the final on Sunday, July 31.

One of the goalscorers in last night's euphoric win was North Eastern star Lucy Bronze.

The 30-year-old was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed and is the closest connection that the city of Newcastle has with the Lionesses squad.

Bronze played with Alnwick Town FC to under-11 level but then the FA prevented the talented youngster from playing with the boys' team - from there she would play with the girls team at Blyth Town.

The England star credits her parents and immediate family for encouraging her sporting passions and was brought up bilingual thanks to her Portuguese father Joaquim - an ability to grasp new languages something that would serve Bronze well when moving to France as an adult. Her mother, Diane, is English.

The footballer also has an older brother, Jorge, who helped form her love for football and with whom she is still very close today - often sharing snaps of her with her "little lion" niece online.

At under-12 level, the full-back joined the Sunderland youth set-up and had worked her way up to the first team by the age of 16, in 2007.

Bronze helped the Black Cats women's outfit to win the Northern Division and gain promotion to the National Divison in the 2008/09 season.

Immediately after that, the rising star jetted off to the USA to study at the University of North Carolina and play for North Carolina Tar Heels, the most successful women's Divison 1 team in the country.

Bronze briefly returned to the North East but, in the summer of 2010, packed her bags and left the region when Everton came knocking.

The defender featured in both the FA WSL and the UEFA Women's Champions League for the Toffees, before eventually moving across the city to join rivals Liverpool in 2012.

Since then, Bronze has also played for Manchester City and Olympique Lyonnais in a glittering career that will continue in Spain at Barcelona after Euro 2022.

During her club successes, Bronze has turned our regularly for the England set-up with 95 appearances to her name.

Her senior debut came in 2013 and she has featured in the side at the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cup, as well as Euro 2013 and 2017.

When not on the pitch, Bronze enjoys spending time with her West Highland Terrier called Narla, who even has her own Instagram account.

The Euro 2022 star is believed to be dating Manchester City football player Keira Walsh, with the two sharing snaps together online. However, they are yet to confirm their relationship.

All eyes in the North East will be on Bronze this weekend as she represents the region on the biggest stage.

The Women's Euro 2022 final will be broadcast on BBC One from 4 pm on Sunday, July 31.