From ball girl to teenage super-sub: Who is England's Michelle Agyemang?

Yahoo

5 days ago

"Something special" was how England boss Sarina Wiegman described Michelle Agyemang after the Lionesses latest Women's Euros victory.
It was the 19-year-old, yet again, who saved England from the brink of elimination.
For the second time in two games the young forward scored a decisive goal, this time leaving it as late as to draw the Lionesses level with Italy and take the game to extra time, where England dug deep to avoid another nail-biting penalty shootout and go through 2-1 winners.
The achievement is even more impressive when you consider it was only four years ago that Agyemang was a ball girl during England's World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in 2021.
Back then, it was her first time going to Wembley, and her first real encounter with England's senior national team. Fast-forward to 2025, and it is hard to imagine the without their youngest member.
So who is Michelle Agyemang, and how has she risen so quickly through the football ranks?
Regular Arsenal and Young Lioness goalscorer
Born in South Ockendon, Essex, in 2006, Agyemang grew up as a fan of Arsenal and joined the north London team at the age of six.
In 2022, aged 16, she made her debut for Arsenal in a 4-0 win over Leicester City in the Women's Super League.
It was around this time that she also started as a Young Lioness, having first been called up to represent her country in the Women's Under-16s squad.
She scored an impressive 10 goals in 12 appearances for the WU17s before making the step-up to the WU19s.
The call-up from Wiegman
In April this year Agyemang was called up to England women's senior squad for the first time.
Earlier the same week, she had helped the WU19s qualify for the European Women's Under-19 Championship in Poland.
She got her debut in the Lionesses' UEFA Women's Nations League clash against Belgium in Leuven, scoring a stunning goal after just 41 seconds on the pitch.
Despite her best efforts, the team lost 3-2, but it was undoubtedly her stand-out performance that secured her a place in Weigman's 23-player squad for Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
First senior tournament
Agyemang's success on the pitch has continued into Euro 2025.
Despite a loss to France in England's first match in the tournament, the team's campaign got into gear with wins over the Netherlands and Wales, which sent them through to the knock-out stages.
It was during England's quarter-final showdown against Sweden that Agyemang truly proved her worth, coming off the bench and levelling the game in the 81st minute, England's second goal in three minutes to draw level with the Swedes.
And she was at it again in the semi-final. In the 96th minute, with England's hopes fading in the face of fierce Italian resistance, the ball fell to super-sub Agyemang in the box and she sent it flying into the back of the net.
And if that wasn't enough, Agyemang almost won the game herself in extra time, hitting the bar with an audacious lob in the 116th minute.
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It was Chloe Kelly who won the game in the end, slotting in her follow-up after the Italy keeper Laura Giuliani saved her initial penalty.
But in the final, all eyes will be on the youngster Agyemang.
"She has something special," Wiegman said of Agyemang. "She's only 19-years-old, she's very mature, she knows exactly what she has to do.
"When you talk about little things that she picks up straight away, because she's not only in the 18-yard box very dangerous but when we have to go to her as a target player, she keeps the ball really well too.
"Even when you saw her shot hit the crossbar, that was not just a shot, she was aiming for it. If she continues like this she has a very bright future."