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Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Bronze believes third major final in a row proves England's mettle
Lucy Bronze believes England's qualification for the Euro 2025 final shows the mettle of the squad to prove their consistency at major tournaments. The Lionesses came from behind for a second consecutive knockout fixture in Switzerland to beat Italy 2-1 after extra time in the semi-final. It means they will travel to Basel on Sunday to face either Spain or Germany in their third consecutive major tournament final. 'People say that England haven't been consistent in the past few years but getting to three consecutive major finals shows what this team is made of,' emphasised Bronze. 'We fight until the end. It probably wasn't our best performance again but Italy were a fantastic team as well, they started really well. 'It shows the fight that we have and the talent that we've got with players coming off the bench to make the difference.' WE'RE IN THE #WEURO2025 FINAL! 🙌 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2025 Italy took the lead in the 33rd minute through Barbara Bonansea and looked set to see out the game with the slender advantage as they packed bodies behind the ball with five at the back. But the introduction of Michelle Agyemang once more proved vital to England's fortunes as she provided the equaliser in the 96th minute after just 11 minutes on the pitch. And while for fans the 19-year-old may be the surprise package of the tournament, her talent is not a well kept secret in the England camp. 'I'm not surprised [by Michelle],' admitted Bronze. 'I remember the first time she came to training I already knew this girl was destined to be part of this group. 'She did it coming on against Belgium, that was the first time for all the fans, and from that moment onwards we knew that she was going to be special. 'Obviously she needs time, she's a 19-year-old. She's doing fantastically coming off the bench and putting in performances and working hard. 'But the fact that she's 19 and she's got so many years to improve and keep getting better. It's frightening to think of the forwards and the attackers we've got at England and so many of them are so young as well.' The second difference maker would be a familiar face for Lionesses fans as 2022 hero Chloe Kelly stepped up to the plate when England won a penalty late into extra time. While the spot-kick supremo did not dispatch at the first time of asking, she was reactive enough to fire home the rebound to send her side through to the Euro 2025 final. '[Chloe] has got this attitude and this confidence that you can't buy,' said Bronze. 'She's a great teammate to have around. She's not started any of the games but every single game she's come on she's made a difference. 'She's one of those players you want on your team and not on the other team that's for sure.' It means England have now scraped through their quarter-final and semi-final, after recovering from a two-goal deficit against Sweden to triumph on penalties in Zurich. After Geneva also experienced the tumult of emotions, questions have been raised about the Lionesses' performances as they have consistently produced slow starts on the big stage. They also started their tournament as a whole slowly as they made their group stage a tough test after losing to France in their opening match. But Bronze insists belief has remained in the camp throughout, with the side focused on a trip to the St. Jakob Arena from the outset. 'We said it after the France game that we still believed we could still make it to the final,' she said. 'Maybe other people didn't believe that but losing that game brought us closer together and showed us what we needed to work on. 'We still made it to the final. Now tonight's just about recovering, obviously enjoying the moment, but we need to recover. 'We've played two 120 minutes and we want to be ready for the final.'
Rhyl Journal
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Bronze believes third major final in a row proves England's mettle
The Lionesses came from behind for a second consecutive knockout fixture in Switzerland to beat Italy 2-1 after extra time in the semi-final. It means they will travel to Basel on Sunday to face either Spain or Germany in their third consecutive major tournament final. 'People say that England haven't been consistent in the past few years but getting to three consecutive major finals shows what this team is made of,' emphasised Bronze. 'We fight until the end. It probably wasn't our best performance again but Italy were a fantastic team as well, they started really well. 'It shows the fight that we have and the talent that we've got with players coming off the bench to make the difference.' WE'RE IN THE #WEURO2025 FINAL! 🙌 Italy took the lead in the 33rd minute through Barbara Bonansea and looked set to see out the game with the slender advantage as they packed bodies behind the ball with five at the back. But the introduction of Michelle Agyemang once more proved vital to England's fortunes as she provided the equaliser in the 96th minute after just 11 minutes on the pitch. And while for fans the 19-year-old may be the surprise package of the tournament, her talent is not a well kept secret in the England camp. 'I'm not surprised [by Michelle],' admitted Bronze. 'I remember the first time she came to training I already knew this girl was destined to be part of this group. 'She did it coming on against Belgium, that was the first time for all the fans, and from that moment onwards we knew that she was going to be special. 'Obviously she needs time, she's a 19-year-old. She's doing fantastically coming off the bench and putting in performances and working hard. 'But the fact that she's 19 and she's got so many years to improve and keep getting better. It's frightening to think of the forwards and the attackers we've got at England and so many of them are so young as well.' The second difference maker would be a familiar face for Lionesses fans as 2022 hero Chloe Kelly stepped up to the plate when England won a penalty late into extra time. While the spot-kick supremo did not dispatch at the first time of asking, she was reactive enough to fire home the rebound to send her side through to the Euro 2025 final. '[Chloe] has got this attitude and this confidence that you can't buy,' said Bronze. 'She's a great teammate to have around. She's not started any of the games but every single game she's come on she's made a difference. 'She's one of those players you want on your team and not on the other team that's for sure.' It means England have now scraped through their quarter-final and semi-final, after recovering from a two-goal deficit against Sweden to triumph on penalties in Zurich. After Geneva also experienced the tumult of emotions, questions have been raised about the Lionesses' performances as they have consistently produced slow starts on the big stage. They also started their tournament as a whole slowly as they made their group stage a tough test after losing to France in their opening match. But Bronze insists belief has remained in the camp throughout, with the side focused on a trip to the St. Jakob Arena from the outset. 'We said it after the France game that we still believed we could still make it to the final,' she said. 'Maybe other people didn't believe that but losing that game brought us closer together and showed us what we needed to work on. 'We still made it to the final. Now tonight's just about recovering, obviously enjoying the moment, but we need to recover. 'We've played two 120 minutes and we want to be ready for the final.'
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Michelle Agyemang hailed after 'fearless' teen gives Sarina Wiegman Euro 2025 final headache
Teenage striker Michelle Agyemang saved England for a second game running and manager Sarina Wiegman will now need to decide how to use her in the Euros final Lucy Bronze heaped praise on humble-but-fearless teenager Michelle Agyemang after the tournament debutant saved England's bacon once more. Arsenal striker Agyemang forced extra-time against Sweden in the quarter-final and repeated the trick against Italy with a crucial stoppage-time strike. Chloe Kelly went on to win the game for the Lionesses deep into extra-time, sending them through to Sunday's final. Both players will be pushing for more involvement despite excelling as 'finishers' under Sarina Wiegman, and Bronze was effusive in her praise of the pair. "What a tournament from Michelle, especially coming in with the seniors just a couple of months ago," Bronze said. "What a great player, what a bright future she's got. "She's such a humble, lovely down to earth girl. Honestly couldn't think of a nicer person and then Chloe's just attitude, sass, confidence, I think Chloe's one of them players when she's on the pitch, no matter what the moment of the game is, or how she's feeling how the crowd is, no matter what, she's going to push her shoulders back, big up her chest and she's going to go for it. They're both key players in this team, obviously they haven't started in this tournament but it just shows the the strength of our team that we've got these players that we can rely on off the bench because I don't know many teams that have that." Agyemang might well have won it for England shortly before Kelly stepped up to the plate, sending an effort against the crossbar. The Arsenal starlet has yet to make her first senior start for her country, but the Lionesses' defenders know all about her from the effort she shows in training. Bronze agreed when asked if she shared some of Agyemang's fearlessness in her own early career. "Yeah I think so because nobody knows anything about you, people can analyse her game but she's played a few minutes against Belgium, a few minutes in the season as well with Brighton," the right-back said. "She's a little bit of the unknown and she brings something different to our other strikers and our attackers, which maybe other teams aren't used to playing against, especially in an England shirt. So I think it gives her a lot of confidence and the team give her a lot of freedom, Sarina does. "We want her to be confident and just play good football and try and score goals, when she scored the first one, we were like, go and do it again. And you saw that in the rest of the game. She was going on by herself, she had two or three good runs in extra time where she was like, I'm going to take this team to the final. It's amazing to see and I think that gives the rest of the team confidence." She added: "I think she had a few comments early on, not from players but from the outside where they said she's quite aggressive [in training] but I love it, what a great player to train against every single day in training. And you see it when she comes on, like defenders are petrified of her, coming up against her. "She comes on [and] a defender's played 90 minutes and then they have to come up against Michelle. I sure as hell wouldn't want that to be me. She's so powerful, so aggressive, she really let us breathe a little bit in the game and helped get rid of some of the pressure in the game as well." Despite Agyemang's impact from the bench, though, manager Wiegman played down the suggestion the youngster is at risk of forcing her hand when it comes to team selection. "She's not forcing me. She is very grateful that she gets minutes," Wiegman said. "She's ready for it. Her growth and development went so quickly. From not starting at Brighton and being on loan, to getting lots more minutes, showing how good she is, and coming into our team, as things go it has been pretty smooth for her and I think she feels very good about that." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Euro 2025: Lucy Bronze issues warning over Jess Carter racist abuse
has offered her full support to teammate Jess Carter after the England defender faced racist abuse during Euro 2025. Bronze spoke out on 20 July 2025, condemning the hateful messages Carter received online. She said: 'The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.' The England squad held meetings to address the issue, showing solidarity with Carter and others affected by racism. Bronze called for greater accountability from social media platforms to protect players. As a result, Carter has stepped back from social media, and the Lionesses announced they will no longer take the knee before Tuesday's Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
No one needs social media – Lucy Bronze issues warning over Jess Carter abuse
Lucy Bronze has warned social media companies football players can 'thrive' without their services after her England team-mate Jess Carter was the target of vile racist online abuse at Euro 2025. Carter said she will be 'taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with', while team-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy said she 'will not continue to feed the very platforms that enable this abuse with no consequence' for the remainder of the tournament. And while Bronze was adamant players could quite easily cut ties with the platforms, she was nevertheless 'sad' for Carter, who she conceded might also be 'missing out' on a chance to celebrate with supporters as the defending champions prepare for Tuesday's semi-final with Italy in Geneva. 'I think no player needs social media,' said Bronze. 'I think that's one thing that we can always remember, is that we play football because we love the sport. 'We love playing, we do love connecting with our fans. Social media is a great way to do that, but we don't need it. 'I think that's something that the platforms should be very aware of, is that no one needs social media. If you want to carry on in sport, especially, we can thrive without it, but it is sad that players are missing out on so many of these great messages. 'Someone like Jess, she's had an amazing tournament. I think she was one of our best players in the Netherlands game, for example, and she should be able to see messages and the fans and the support and live in that moment, because it's something you should be able to celebrate. 'So it's sad that players are having to choose between this roller-coaster that social media sends us on.' In a statement, Football Association chief Mark Bullingham confirmed his organisation has already referred the 'abhorrent' abuse to UK police, who are 'in touch with the relevant social media platform', and said the FA 'will continue to discuss with the relevant authorities and social media companies about what more can and should be done.' The Lionesses have collectively agreed they will not be 'taking the knee' ahead of kick-off in Geneva, a symbolic anti-racism gesture that since 2016, when NFL player Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the Star Spangled Banner in protest, has become widespread practice across sport. 'Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches,' read a team statement. 'It's clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off on Tuesday.' Bronze agreed that there 'has been change' since Kaepernick's protest but added: 'I think the problem is that as the game grows and everything grows, in football and in life, as much as there might be change, there are more outlets for abuse and racism as well. 'It's just not enough. I think that's the point. Not enough is being done. There are small changes being made, there's always small steps forward, but that's the problem. It's always a small step. 'And we don't want it to be small steps anymore. We want it to be 'this is happening, there's change, it's unacceptable', and there's no more small steps, because we get to the point of where it should be in the world, and especially in the world of footballers. 'It feels like there can be a place where we can control abuse online, especially racism online. Everything is monitored online, so it just doesn't make sense to us.'
