England teammates sing praises of young saviour Agyemang
Three months after she made her senior team debut, and four years removed from being a ball girl for her now teammates, Agyemang struck in the sixth minute of stoppage time against Italy on Tuesday en route to a 2-1 victory in extra time, the second consecutive game she has saved England at the brink.
The Lionesses meet either Spain or Germany in the final on Sunday.
"She's an unbelievable player and she's got the world at her feet, a young player with a bright future and I'm absolutely buzzing for her," said Chloe Kelly, who smashed home the rebound of her own penalty kick in extra time to secure the victory.
Agyemang is a skilled bulldozer of a striker with a nose for the net and no fear of battling for possession.
"You see it when she comes on," England defender Lucy Bronze said. "Defenders are petrified of her."
"She feels inevitable right now," added captain Leah Williamson.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Singapore's domestic recycling rate drops to all-time low of 11%
Singapore Male victim of fatal Toa Payoh fire was known to keep many things, say residents
Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in
Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt
Singapore Money, housing and isolation the biggest struggles for youth leaving children's homes: Study
Singapore Sota parent portal taken down for urgent patching following global cyberattack alerts
Singapore COE prices for cars mostly unchanged; premium for commercial vehicles up 2.9%
Singapore Cyclist charged after allegedly hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him
A ball girl at Wembley for an England World Cup qualifier in 2021, Agyemang made her England senior debut three months ago against Belgium, scoring 41 seconds after she ran onto the pitch, the first of three goals in four caps.
She said being mobbed by her teammates on Tuesday "will live in my heart forever".
"It means the world to me. I'm so grateful," she added. "Four years ago I was a kid just throwing a ball to some of these girls and now I'm playing with them. It's a great opportunity and I'm so happy I am here."
England coach Sarina Wiegman was certainly happy with her youngest Lioness on Tuesday. Agyemang, who also scored a late equaliser in their quarter-final win over Sweden, almost secured the victory in extra time at Stade de Geneve when her cute lob from a tight angle came back off the crossbar.
"She has something special. She's only 19 years old, she's very mature, she knows exactly what she has to do," Wiegman said.
"When we have to go to her as a target player, she keeps the ball really well. Even when you saw her 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."
Agyemang's impact in England's two knockout games now has fans wondering whether the teenager will see more of the pitch in the final.
Sunday's match in Basel marks the third consecutive final appearance in a major tournament for England, while Wiegman is the first coach in men's or women's football to reach five consecutive finals. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Farrell's Lions fall short of greatness after conquering Australia
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SYDNEY - The British & Irish Lions had already done enough to assure their legacy before their dream of a 3-0 series triumph was washed away in a maelstrom of lightning, rain and defiant Australians on Saturday night. Lions test series triumphs are rare and the 2025 squad captained by Maro Itoje and coached by Andy Farrell will take their rightful place alongside the esteemed post-war tourists of 1971, 1974, 1989, 1997 and 2013. "I know we're disappointed but we should be unbelievably proud of what we achieved as a group," Farrell said after the 22-12 defeat. "Lions tours are tough and ... upon reflection after tonight, I'm sure we'll be super proud of the achievements. "How we got the job done in that type of theatre will live with us forever. These lads have been an absolute dream to work with. It's been the time of our lives." In fact, had the Lions reproduced their dominance of the first hour of the Brisbane opener and final 50 minutes in Melbourne to take a third test win in Sydney, it might only have diminished their achievement in taking out the series. Starting with Ben Youngs last year, there have been plenty of voices suggesting that Australian rugby has fallen so far that the country no longer deserves the honour of the Lions visit every 12 years. Those voices were noticeably absent from the Lions camp during a series where the two teams were separated by only a single point over the three tests. Lions coach Farrell is convinced his old friend and mentor Joe Schmidt is building something special in Australia and if he is correct, it may be a couple of years before the achievement of his squad is fully appreciated. "Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100%," Farrell said this week. "It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast." Farrell may have been formed as a player in rugby league but the Englishman has shown over the last eight weeks that few understand the spirit and dynamics of the Lions better. SQUAD COHESION In Itoje, he chose a captain who was an automatic selection in the test team and there was never a hint of the sort of squad divisions that have plagued previous tours once it became clear which players were first choice. "It hasn't felt like there's been any separation in the group whatsoever," New Zealander Andrew Goodman, one of Farrell's assistant coaches, said this week. "A big part of his philosophy as a coach is to make sure everyone's all-in all the time in terms of what we do on the field and off the field. "He's a great man motivator. He's a great man around connecting, not just the playing group, but the wider staff and management group as well. "He's an amazing coach and I'm privileged to work underneath him." Itoje said Farrell's attention to detail had surprised him and thought the way the tour had been organised ensured the players formed genuine bonds with each other. "If we won every game and we absolutely hated one another in some ways. Yes, that's what you're going for, because it's a test series win," the England lock said. "But I think life is more than that." That squad cohesion was vital because it quickly became clear that Farrell, on sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach, was going to rely on a test team with a distinctly Irish tinge. LIONS OOZE CLASS That was most controversial in his back row selections, where the likes of Wales captain Jac Morgan and English youngster Henry Pollock missed out and the trio of Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan and Tom Curry started all three tests. His selection paid off with Beirne named Player of the Series and the energy and power of all three ensuring the Lions were often dominant and never overwhelmed by the Wallabies. Farrell's halfback combination of scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell was also locked in and paid huge dividends with the Scottish flyhalf rivalling Beirne for individual series honours. The tour started with an understrength Lions side losing to an understrength Argentina in Dublin, but once the Lions arrived in Australia they oozed class in all areas of the park. Six wins in six tour matches followed with only the inaugural First & Pasifika XV coming close to claiming a famous upset in Melbourne. Some 450,000 souls, many of them red-clad travelling fans, packed into stadiums around country to watch the nine games and prove the spirit of the Lions was alive and kicking after the COVID-impacted 2021 tour had played out to empty stands. The Lions will be back on the road in 2029 and it would be a huge surprise if Farrell was not asked to repeat his coaching alchemy against the All Blacks in New Zealand. REUTERS
AsiaOne
10 hours ago
- AsiaOne
'Whenever I jump out, it's like jumping back home': Veteran Red Lion to land in Bishan instead of the Padang for NDP 2025, Singapore News
SINGAPORE — After executing a perfect landing on a large open field in Bishan, Red Lion Leonard Tan was drenched from head to toe. When asked if he was soaked because he went through clouds while free-falling through the sky, Master Warrant Officer Tan said: 'Most of it is sweat. The stress and fatigue level of one jump is equivalent to a 5km run. Mentally and physically, I feel like I just ran 5km.' MWO Tan was speaking exclusively to The Straits Times on July 30 after a practice jump in Bishan. He is one of seven Red Lions taking part in the 2025 National Day heartland celebrations, and will jump from about 1,830m and land at the open field beside Junction 8 in Bishan at 4pm on Aug 10. Despite being the most experienced Red Lion this year, with the highest number of jumps — 3,020 jumps over a 25-year career — MWO Tan, 48, said he reminds himself to never be complacent and to always keep focused on the jump ahead. 'The jump itself is around six minutes, but we have to prepare ourselves for around six hours. A lot goes behind the scenes,' he said. For instance, to prepare for the 9.15am jump on July 30, MWO Tan woke up at 3am. 'I had a small bite, attended several safety briefs and returned to our base camp to prepare our equipment. Then we headed to the airbase to coordinate with the pilots on how our jumps will be,' he said. 'In the aircraft, I would visualise how I would exit the plane and execute the canopy moves, all the way until I landed. 'So by the time I land, I would always feel a lot of relief because of the humongous amount of stress there was before jumping out of the aircraft,' he added. Before each jump, everything from wind speed to the amount of clouds in the sky are monitored to ensure the safety of the Red Lions. For instance, for display jumps, surface winds cannot exceed 13 knots (24kmh), which is classified as a moderate breeze on the Beaufort scale. Visibility is another factor. MWO Tan said: 'When we are on board the plane and can't see the show arena or the landing spot due to clouds, the plane will make another round... If we still can't see the arena, we will call off the jump.' Training is also key, and preparation for the Aug 10 jump began as early as April. 'Due to limited airspace in Singapore, the Red Lions pivot to high-intensity training in Thailand for about three weeks to rehearse the display routines. It takes at least 30 jumps to prepare for an event like this,' said MWO Tan. A childhood dream All preparations now, no matter how tough, feel worthwhile to MWO Tan, who has dreamt about being a Red Lion since he was a boy. 'It's been a childhood aspiration of mine. When I was young, I lived in Bedok, and from my HDB flat, I could see the horizon above Bedok Reservoir. At times, I would see an aircraft flying over the horizon and it looked like it was [pooping], but it was actually a parachutist jumping from the rear of the aircraft,' he said, with a laugh. 'I was very curious [about] what that was, and my parents told me that those were army parachutists doing their training. That really struck me, and inspired me to want to be a parachutist,' added MWO Tan. Eventually, he made the cut in 2000. But his first jump as a Red Lion did not go according to plan. Smiling sheepishly as he recalled his first jump, MWO Tan said: 'It was not a very positive jump because I didn't pull my parachute. So I was actually tumbling all the way from the aircraft. 'Luckily, there was [an] automatic activation device that activated my parachute. When I landed, I got a warning letter, and I was nearly out.' It taught him a valuable lesson 'to be more consistent and not to be complacent, especially since parachuting is not for the faint-hearted'. 'It is a bit of a risky sport if you do not know what to do, so we need to be very sure of our drills and prepare ourselves well.' Since then, MWO Tan has made more than 3,000 jumps, with National Day 2025 marking his 10th display jump to celebrate the nation's birthday. One of his most memorable jumps was in 2006, when he landed at the former National Stadium in Kallang. 'It was iconic to me because the old National Stadium was shaped like a bowl. So in the air, it acts like a speaker and amplifies the crowd cheering. Even at 3,000 feet (914m) high, I could hear Gurmit Singh speaking as the emcee. I thought, wow, I'm so high but I can still hear the crowd, and that struck me — to do an even better show for the nation,' MWO Tan said. The jump on Aug 10 will be MWO Tan's first at a heartland event. 'In the heartland, you get closer to the audience, which is something I look forward to,' he said. Despite being so experienced, each jump for MWO Tan is still as exciting as the first. 'I enjoy every single jump, from the first to the last. I anticipate myself to be making another 1,000 jumps,' he said. When asked what Singapore looks like from above the clouds, MWO Tan said: 'You can see the whole of Singapore from 10,000 feet (3,048m). It is a priceless feeling and, at times, even tearful because when I jump out, it brings back memories of where my roots are. I feel very appreciative of the people who brought me up to where I am today. 'So to me, whenever I jump out, the feeling is always the same. It is like jumping back home.' ALSO READ: NDP 2025: Red Lions and naval divers to jump at two separate locations in celebration of SG60 This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Straits Times
West Ham sign former Newcastle striker Wilson on one-year deal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Everton - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - May 25, 2025 Newcastle United's Callum Wilson salutes their fans after the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo LONDON - West Ham United have recruited ex-Newcastle United and Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson as a free agent on a one-year contract, the east London club announced on Saturday. The 33-year-old Wilson has had 111 direct goal involvements in 239 Premier League appearances, including 49 in 130 games for Newcastle, where he failed to agree a new contract. He has played nine times for England, scoring twice. "I'm excited to be joining a massive football club like West Ham. A club that shares a similar passion to mine, hard work, dedication and also I strive for success so I'm glad to be a part of it," Wilson said. Wilson moved to Newcastle in September 2022 and had his best Premier League tally of 18 goals in 2022-23, a season that also saw him feature for England at the World Cup in Qatar. He played in just 18 league games last term due to injuries. "He is a proven, experienced Premier League striker, with a great work ethic and a fantastic goalscoring record," West Ham coach Graham Potter said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals Singapore Police reopen access to all areas in Marina Bay after crowd congestion eases at NDP Preview area Singapore Opening of Woodlands Health has eased load on KTPH, sets standard for future hospitals: Ong Ye Kung Asia KTM plans new passenger rail service in Johor Bahru to manage higher footfall expected from RTS Singapore HSA investigating teen allegedly vaping on MRT train Asia 4 workers dead after falling into manhole in Japan Singapore New vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link to open on Aug 3 Singapore New S'pore jobs portal launched for North West District residents looking for work near home "He also has excellent character and personality, which is such an important factor, and something that we place a big emphasis on with our player recruitment." REUTERS
