Lionesses boss Phil Neville says he will continue to 'risk' playing Lucy Bronze in midfield in Tuesday's friendly against Norway, likening her to Philipp Lahm.
Bronze won Uefa's Player of the Year award last week and has been named as a finalist in the Best Fifa Football Awards for her performances at right-back.
The Lyon star has said she is 'uncomfortable' in midfield but Neville played her in the middle for Thursday's 3-3 draw in Belgium and believes it is a risk worth taking ahead of the European Championship on home soil in 2021.
"There will be times she plays right-back," said Neville, who was on Tuesday morning linked with the vacant USA job.
"But we have a two-year period now where playing Lucy in midfield might be one of the risks we take.
"We might have to suffer - and that suffering and risk-taking gets us to where we want to get to.
"[Former Bayern Munich manager] Pep Guardiola did it with Philipp Lahm. He was voted one of the best right-backs, but he put him into midfield."
Neville remains without two key midfielders in Arsenal's Jordan Nobbs and Lyon's Izzy Christiansen, who are still recovering from injuries which ruled them out of this summer's World Cup, while Manchester City playmaker Jill Scott has been rested.
"People will ask why we are doing it [with Bronze] – she is the best right-back in the world – but if you are brave enough to take the risk and have buy-in from the player it can be successful," the England manager added in an interview with the BBC.
Bronze said: "I'm in my comfort zone at full-back, definitely. Without being told what to do I just know where to go. But I love a challenge. In midfield I feel uncomfortable.
"It might not work - I might be terrible in midfield - but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to."
England beat Norway 3-0 in the World Cup quarter-finals before losing to the US in the last four.
Neville has been named as one of Fifa's three coaches of the year but says outgoing US boss Jill Ellis should win.
Meanwhile, former England star Alex Scott has been named on an eight-person FA board to deliver Euro 2021 on home soil.
Scott is joined by Baroness Sue Campbell, new FA CEO Mark Bullingham and five others, who will hold the first of eight meetings on Friday to decide the tournament's schedule, which will be approved by Uefa later this year.
They will also make calls on promotion, ticketing, volunteering and logistics for the tournament, to be held in eight English cities.
