England produces another dramatic comeback to make second consecutive Women's Euros final
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England has made late comebacks its calling card at the 2025 Women's Euros and produced another dramatic finish in its 2-1 victory over Italy in the semifinals in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday.
The Lionesses had trailed most of the match after Barbara Bonansea's first half goal on 33 minutes until Michelle Agyemang equalized in the 96th minute, with less than two minutes of added time remaining.
In extra time and with the contest looking as if it was going to penalties for the second consecutive match, England was awarded a penalty in the 117th minute when Beth Mead was fouled in the box.
Although Azzurre goalkeeper Laura Giuliani initially saved Chloe Kelly's spot-kick, the English forward was quickest to react, stabbing the rebound home from close range and booking the Lionesses' place in the final in the most dramatic fashion.
'It is definitely a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat,' Kelly told reporters afterwards. 'These girls are brilliant – they make me so proud to be English, as every English person is right now.
'I can't believe what happened. The togetherness of this group is so special.'
England had qualified for the semifinals in an extraordinary manner, scoring two late goals to come from 2-0 down to force extra time against Sweden before a dramatic penalty shootout unfolded with the Lionesses managing to keep their cool at the key moment.
Italy, on the other hand, had beaten Norway in the quarterfinals but was the heavy underdog against the Women's Euros defending champion, looking for its first spot in the final since 1997.
Despite the pre-match predictions, it was the Italians who struck first. A probing cross from Sofia Cantore caused all manner of confusion among the England defenders before Bonansea was able to corral the ball and smash it into the roof of the net.
With the Azzurre ahead, England went on the front foot in search of the equalizer. And whether through some wayward finishing or some inspired goalkeeping from Giuliani, the Lionesses were unable to draw themselves level.
That was until the 96th minute when Agyemang, who has made a habit as a substitute of providing big, late impacts at this tournament, once again displayed her proficiency off the bench.
Giuliani could only parry a cross with the rebound falling to the 19-year-old's feet where she smashed the ball home.
The goal sparked wild scenes of celebration, with Italy's players clearly distraught at conceding so late into the match.
With the game in extra-time, both teams had chances to score again – Agyemang came closest in the 117th minute where her lob bounced off the crossbar.
But with penalties looming once again for England, Mead was fouled in the box as she attempted to connect with a Lauren Hemp cross, with referee Ivana Martinčić pointing to the spot.
There was even more drama though as Kelly – with her unique run-up before her penalty, comprising of a hop and a jump – had her penalty saved but managed to tap home to clinch a dramatic win.
The victory continues England's success at major international tournaments, with this marking the team's third final in a row; the Lionesses won the Women's Euros on home soil in 2022 and lost to Spain in the World Cup final in 2023.
'I feel like it hasn't really sunk in. It was just a rollercoaster of emotions, trying to stay focused in the 120 minutes to make sure we didn't let Italy back into the game,' England defender Lucy Bronze said afterwards. 'I can imagine once I'm in the dressing room, and we're on the bus, and we get back to (the team base in) Zurich, it'll sink in that we've made it to another final.
'I don't think you'll find a team in world football with more fight and more resilience than this England team. To come back and to never give up, the same as we did in the previous game, and to fight to the end; we kept our dreams alive and then to finish it in extra time as well is unbelievable.'
England will face either Spain or Germany in Sunday's final in Basel, with the two facing off in their semifinal on Wednesday in Zurich.
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The biggest thing is being able to judge the ball and know when you're supposed to move your hand towards it and at what angle and what speed and that's before you take into account all the other players who are on the field in front of you. 'At the very top level where she's playing, the game is moving really fast and the players in front of her can do some really amazing things with the ball when they shoot. It's really a remarkable story.' Pyzdrowski believes the fact she was born with the condition might actually be something that has helped her in learning how to work around it. He compares her situation to that of legendary England 'keeper Gordon Banks, who was Stoke City and England's No 1 when a car crash in 1972 damaged the retina in his right eye, robbing him of his binocular vision (ability to see out of two eyes). He retired from professional football the following year, although returned to action for two seasons in the North American Soccer League with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. 'I'd think it would be harder having had two eyes that work for your whole life and then being limited to only one,' says Pyzdrowski. 'Hannah doesn't know anything different, and she's obviously found a way to compensate. The brain and human body are so miraculous, she has probably just found her own way to read the flight of the ball, and it works.' Hampton's recollection of her early days in goal lends credence to this view. In an interview with the i Paper in 2022, she explained how she suffered 'many, many nose bleeds' and 'a lot of broken fingers' because she was constantly putting her hands in the wrong place to catch the ball. 'I've had to adjust my set position to have my hands out to take the ball,' she explained. 'Trying to catch a ball is quite hard!' 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Binocular stereo depth perception is actual depth due to the parallax difference between the two eye views (the fact that our two eyes see slightly different images of the same scene, and the brain combines these images to create a 3D perception). Is one form better than the other? Laby uses the analogy of stereo depth perception being akin to high definition television. It is finer and more precise than the monocular version. Stereo depth perception only works well to a distance of six to eight feet (1.8metres to 2.4m), though. 'A perfect example of that in the extreme is when you look up at the stars in the sky at night,' says Laby. 'When you look at them with both eyes, they look like they are all the same distance from us. But we know that many of the stars are much further away than the others.' This limitation means that when play is happening further than six to eight feet away from Hampton, her lack of stereo depth perception actually has very little impact on her ability to detect depth. She will instead depend on the monocular or one-eyed cues to depth. 'So she doesn't really lose much by not having stereo depth perception because any ball that's coming to her within two or three feet of her face, she's not going to have time to react to it,' says Laby. 'Nobody is going to react fast enough, even if they have perfect vision, because you can't make the motor action that fast to put your hand up to stop a ball that's two feet away from you and moving at those speeds.' Doctors have told Hampton there is still an operation that can be done to straighten her eyes, but it would be for cosmetic purposes only; her vision would be unchanged. 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This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Chelsea, England, Premier League, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
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