England hero Kelly overcomes 'dark moments' on way to Euro glory
England's Chloe Kelly celebrates after scoring the winning penalty in the shootout against Spain on Sunday. Picture: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
England penalty hero Chloe Kelly said Sunday she had been unable to hold back the tears after finishing a roller-coaster year in her career by scoring the spot-kick that allowed the Lionesses to beat Spain in the Women's Euro 2025 final.
ALSO READ: Sub sinks Morocco as Nigeria are crowned African football queens
The 27-year-old's penalty sealed a 3-1 shoot-out victory for England against Spain after the match in Basel had finished 1-1 at the end of extra time.
England's Kelly's key impact
She had earlier come off the bench late in the first half in place of the injured Lauren James with England trailing 1-0, and crossed for Alessia Russo to head in her team's equaliser.
'I just came on the pitch and wanted to make something happen,' said Kelly, who has made a habit of being a super-sub during the tournament.
The Arsenal player came on as a substitute against Sweden and helped England recover from 2-0 down in a quarter-final they eventually won on penalties — Kelly scored in that shoot-out too.
Then she scored the winner late in extra time in the semi-final against Italy, following in to net after her penalty had been saved.
'I know Alessia's strengths and I just tried to put the ball on her head, and then taking the penalty,' Kelly said.
'I actually missed three penalties in training yesterday but I think it's the belief in this squad, all 23 players and the people that you don't see behind the scenes, the staff members, to get us through this tournament.
'I am proud to be part of an amazing group of girls.'
It is a familiar feeling for Kelly, who scored the extra-time winner when England beat Germany 2-1 in the Euro 2022 final in front of over 87,000 fans at Wembley.
In between she was unable to change the game from the bench in the 2023 World Cup final, which England lost 1-0 to Spain in Sydney.
'Tough times don't last'
Just a few months ago it seemed Kelly might not even make Sarina Wiegman's squad for the tournament in Switzerland, given her situation at club level.
In January she asked to leave Manchester City, where she had been used sparingly in the first months of the season.
Kelly wrote on social media that people at City had been trying to 'assassinate my character' and said her mental wellbeing had been affected.
She then joined Arsenal on loan until the end of the campaign, and went on to play for them as they beat Barcelona in the Champions League final in May.
'There were a lot of tears at full-time especially when I saw my family because those are the people who got me through those dark moments,' Kelly said on Sunday.
'I am so grateful to be out of it but if that is a story to tell someone who maybe experiences something the same, then tough times don't last,' she added.
'Just around the corner was a Champions League final — I won that, and now a Euros final I have won that, so thank you to everyone who wrote me off. I am grateful.'
Kelly recently signed permanently for Arsenal, where she also played earlier in her career, and will return to North London as a European champion at club and international level.
'Every player has their own story, and I think every story is incredible on its own, but her story is unbelievable,' said England coach Sarina Wiegman.
'I am so happy for her too. She has been fighting to come back to her highest level.
ALSO READ: No complaints from Ellis in Banyana defeat
'She loved this moment, she just really wanted to take the penalty — to be able to score that penalty under that pressure is very impressive too.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
11 hours ago
- IOL News
The end of an era: Can Max Verstappen make a comeback?
Red Bull fans will be happy to know that Max Verstappen will be staying another season. | AFP Image: AFP There used to be a period in Formula 1 when Max Verstappen's name was on top of everything - practice sessions, warm ups, sprints and main races. But this season, its been an all orange affair and the first practice session of the Hungartian grand prix weeked hasn't been any different. Verstappen was almost a whole second of the lead pace set by Lando Norris while his fellow Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda was struggling at the bottom of the pack. Ferrari have grown out of Red Bull's shadow and seem to be the front runner up behind McLaren's pace - with Charles Leclerc finding the right lines around the Hungaroring on Friday. Norris, Oscar Piastri and Leclerc made up the top three drivers during FP1. Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar had a phenomenal session, posting the fourth quickest time of the day, inches ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Verstappen managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat last week in Belgium when he beat the McLarens and won the Sprint at Spa, twisting the RB21 up and over Eau Rouge to give his home fans something to cheer. But the long term race pace just wasn't there for the Champion, getting outrun by Piastri (P1) and Norris (P2) again. Piastri's win last week and Norris's P2 podium finish has all but solidified an orange victory at the end of this season. Fans and maybe even McLaren boss himself, Zak Brown, don't know yet just which driver in McLaren will lift the trophy. Although Piastri has dominated his teammate this season, Norris looked like he isn't throwing in the towel over the course of the past few races, and closing the point gap between them. For the four-time World Champion Verstappen, however, it doesn't look like he's equaling Michael Schumacher's record of five-striaght World Titles any time soon. Pity though, it would have capped off a hall-of-fame level career at Red Bull, although there will always be a cloud hanging over the 2021 title. Red Bull just haven't been able to deliver a car capable of allowing Verstappen to compete at McLaren or recently, Ferrari's level. The team have experimented with different aerodynamic appraoches for the first half of the season, even opting for a super skinny rear wing at one point. Now 109 points behind Piastri in the leader, Verstappen will need to find whatever last bit of juice the RB21 has to offer before its too late. While it already may be a little too late in terms of points, its Formula 1, so you never know what type of second half McLaren might have. Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko came out swinging this week, defending his team an d Verstappen's seat for next season. The Hungarian GP posed an important mark on the calendar for Red Bull fans, mainly because of the release clause in Verstappen's contract. It allegedly states that if he is fourth or lower in standings, he is allowed to exit the contract. Marko said it was ridiculous "other people thought they knew the contract better than us", after he was quizzed about it by Austrian media. According to Verstappen, he never had any plans of leaving but did enjoy stirring the pot a bit. "That's me, and I do that on purpose because it makes no sense to start throwing things around and actually that should be the same for everyone. "Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama but for me it's always been quite clear and also for next year. "I'm discussing with the team already the plans, the things that we want to change next year so that means I'm also staying with the team for next year and if my boat is next to Toto's then the boat is next to Toto's," Verstappen said in Hungary. He's confirmed Verstappen's place in Red Bull next year, which was widely speculated about. It was alleged that Toto Wolff wanted to sign Verstappen onto Mercedes, but with the new regulations coming into effect next year, Marko said the move would not have " made sense" . "I can confirm Verstappen will be driving for Red Bull next season," he said. According to Verstappen, he never had any plans of leaving but did enjoy stirring the pot a bit. "That's me, and I do that on purpose because it makes no sense to start throwing things around and actually that should be the same for everyone. "Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama but for me it's always been quite clear and also for next year. "I'm discussing with the team already the plans, the things that we want to change next year so that means I'm also staying with the team for next year and if my boat is next to Toto's then the boat is next to Toto's," Verstappen said in Hungary.
IOL News
12 hours ago
- IOL News
Coetze denied another gold medal in pulsating backstroke final as Corbett snatches bronze
Piter Coetzé finishied second in the 200m backstroke final at the World Aquatic Championships in a time of 1:53.36. Pieter Coetzé narrowly missed out on a second gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in Friday's 200m backstroke final, while Kaylene Corbett took bronze in the women's 200m breaststroke final. Coetzé eventually had to settle for silver behind Olympic champion Hubert Kόs of Hungary. The Pretoria swimmer went out hard in the final, turning first at both the 50m and 100m marks under world record pace, but was hunted down in the second half of the race by Kόs. South Africa's newly crowned 100m backstroke world champion came back at Kόs in the final metres of the race. He touched the wall in a time of 1:53.36, just 0.17 seconds slower than Kos (1:53.19). Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France took the bronze in 1:54.52. Coetzé's time took almost a second off the African record he set in the semifinals and is the seventh-fastest time in history. Both Kόs and Coetzé's times beat Kόs' gold medal-winning time from last year's Olympic Games in Paris. 'Coming into this, I didn't really expect to go that fast. This has exceeded all my expectations and it's just a big honour to be in a race like that,' said an elated Coetzé afterwards. 'I kind of expected to be out very fast. I could feel that I was moving at a high pace, and I knew that I would feel it in the end, and I did. But it's a big PB for me so I'm super-happy with the time.'
The South African
12 hours ago
- The South African
South African flag raised TWICE at World Aquatics Championships
The South African flag was raised twice more at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Friday as Pieter Coetzé claimed silver in the 200m backstroke and Kaylene Corbett a bronze in the 200m breaststroke. After his victory in the 100m backstroke on Tuesday, Coetzé lined up among the favourites, having qualified fastest for the final of the 200m event with a new African record in the semi-finals. The Pretoria swimmer went out hard in the final, turning first at both the 50m and 100m marks under world record pace, but was hunted down in the second half of the race by Olympic champion Hubert Kόs. While Coetzé closed in on the Hungarian in the final metres of the race, he just couldn't out-touch him, finishing second in 1:53.36 seconds, just 0.17 of a second off the gold. That took almost a second off the African record he set in the semi-finals and is the seventh fastest time in history. Both Kόs and Coetzé's times beat Kόs's gold medal-winning time from last year's Olympic Games in Paris. 'Coming into this, I didn't really expect to go that fast. This has exceeded all my expectations and it's just a big honour to be in a race like that,' said an elated Coetzé afterwards. 'I kind of expected to be out very fast. I could feel that I was moving at a high pace, and I knew that I would feel it in the end, and I did. 'But it's a big PB for me so I'm super-happy with the time.' Just one race later, Corbett dived in for the final of the 200m breaststroke. The 26-year-old reached the first turn in fifth place and steadily worked her way up to fourth by the second and third. A final push saw her surging into medal contention, claiming a joint bronze medal with Russian Alina Zmushka in a time of 2:23.52. Olympic champion Kate Douglass of the USA took the gold in a championship record time of 2:18.50, the second fastest time in history, with world record-holder Evgeniia Chikunova second in 2:19.96. 'It's been a really hectic year, and it just feels like it really came together when it should, so I'm just really, really stoked about it. I'm very, very happy,' said an emotional Corbett after claiming her first world championship medal. 'I just think that I gave everything I had, and I'm just really proud of myself with that performance.' The Pretoria swimmer has reached all her previous major finals alongside South Africa's four-time Olympic medallist and former world-record holder Tatjana Smith and added: 'Even though the world record-holder was there [tonight], even though the Olympic champion was there, I've been fortunate enough to swim next to Tatjana, so I know that those titles don't always mean everything all the time. 'I've been fortunate enough to swim under pressure next to her my whole career basically so it's really special to be able to win this medal. I just wish she was on the podium with me.' Kaylene Corbett wins a share of the bronze medal. Image: Wade Brennan Meanwhile, Erin Gallagher added more joy for the South Africans, finishing second in her 50m butterfly semi-final to book a spot in Saturday's final. The 26-year-old powered to a time of 23.39 seconds, bettering her own national record and finishing just one hundredth of a second off Egyptian Farida Osman's continental mark. That sees Gallagher through to the final as the third fastest qualifier. 'I'm so happy with that swim. I honestly think I owe it to Pieter and Kaylene, my team-mates, for winning medals tonight,' said Gallagher afterwards. 'I was in the call-room screaming, and they just got me excited for my race and I thought I can't drop the ball – my team-mates have done so incredibly well, I need to get into that final tonight and I think that spurred me on in the race.' Earlier in the day, Catherine van Rensburg finished 25th overall in the 800m freestyle in a time of 8 minutes 50.60 seconds. It'll be a busy day for the South African team in Singapore on Saturday with Coetzé returning to the pool for the 50m backstroke and Corbett for the 50m breaststroke, while Caitlin de Lange will be taking on the 50m freestyle. The mixed 4x100m freestyle relay team will also be in action before Gallagher's 50m butterfly final in the evening session. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
