Lionesses outlast Italy to reach Euros final but need more than fighting spirit to retain title

Yahoo

22-07-2025

Somehow — and no one can quite be sure how — the Lionesses are European Championship finalists again. Their title defence goes on.
The resilience England have shown in beating Sweden on penalties in the quarter-final and now Italy after extra time in Tuesday's semi-final can only bode well for them, however unconvincing they were in large parts of both knockout games.
Sarina Wiegman's side trailed the unfancied Italy for much of the match after Barbara Bonansea's volley, right up until teenage substitute Michelle Agyemang proved herself nerveless once more.
After forcing extra time against Sweden on Thursday, she did so again here, firing through the legs of two Italy players in injury time to ensure this night, too, went on and on for England.
The Lionesses won't have minded, and not only because it was they who trailed and who were desperately running out of time to equalise when Agyemang struck. Extra time is as much a test of collective belief as it is about physical endurance, and here England were, playing a semi-final for their sixth consecutive major tournament. They belong at the latter stages of tournaments now; they are into a third straight final.
Their winning goal came from ugly means, but this was, indeed, an ugly, fraught, imperfect performance from them — even though it did once again deliver another perfectly happy ending.
Once Beth Mead had been fouled in the box by fellow substitute Emma Severini, England were awarded a penalty with four minutes of extra time remaining. Chloe Kelly took, was uncharacteristically denied, but chased down the rebound to stroke England into the final.
The Lionesses will rightly celebrate with feeling after reaching the final with another unforgettable win, but their opponents there will be either Germany or Spain, and if that draws a gulp, it should.
There were rather anonymous performances from Georgia Stanway and Lauren James against Italy, while full-backs Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze did not have their best games either. And manager Wiegman waited too long to bring the eventual matchwinner Kelly on (the 77th minute).
The limited nature of their opposition — though Italy deserve huge respect — ensured those shortcomings did not come back to punish England. Against the Germans or the Spanish, there is no saying that things will end so rosy.
But England got their eventual reward for the pressure they piled on Italy in the second half after heading to the dressing room a goal down. Even once Agyemang had forced extra time, there was no let-up from the Lionesses. Italy tired, but England also ensured that they tired, playing through them, past them, dominating the ball, making sure they were chasing shadows.
Once again, England had enough left in the tank. They are proving themselves to be the masters of getting the job done on these long tournament knockout nights. As the final looms, that can only be a good thing.