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The Guardian
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Aside from a sense of manifest destiny, what exactly is Wiegman-ball?
'This is a movie,' Sarina Wiegman said, and as England celebrated their heist in Geneva that sense of unreality seemed to have infused her players too. 'Goodness me,' sighed Esme Morgan as she returned to the dressing room after the 2-1 extra-time win over Italy, blowing out her cheeks in relief. Meanwhile, the captain, Leah Williamson, was trying to explain just how England manage to keep going behind but pulling out victories at the very end. 'Whilst there are seconds on the clock, there are seconds that we're just waiting,' she said. 'It's less 'if' and more 'how'. I don't know how to explain it, I don't know how we do it.' And frankly, this was the sort of victory that defied rational explanation. By the dying minutes of this game Beth Mead was playing in central midfield as part of a double pivot behind Ella Toone and the strike duo of Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones. Lauren Hemp, who started the last World Cup final as a second striker, was now left-back. And England were basically just pumping long balls into the area hoping something would happen. The formation: like, 2-6-2? 3-2-1-4? In a way, it scarcely mattered. This is after all tournament football, where the usual logic does not always apply, where the result is the result, however you get it. The new plan is no plan. Just go at it. 'Everybody's fighting and everybody wants to win and everybody feels like they can win,' Lucy Bronze said afterwards and frankly her stirring performances in this tournament suggest that ultimately it may be no more complicated than that. For Wiegman, however, all this represents a certain tectonic shift. When she arrived as England coach in 2021 she was presented not simply as a great leader but a sharp tactician, a coach raised in the Cruyff persuasion, who met the great man at the age of 13 on a television show, who had absorbed his principles of dynamic possession and won Euro 2017 with the Netherlands playing the classic Dutch 4-3-3. Who above all had a philosophy, a defined style of playing. These days, that style is a little harder to discern. England have switched freely between a back four and a back three, often in the same tournament, sometimes even in the same half. Passing principles have been blooded, adopted and then junked in the face of trouble. So what exactly is the philosophy? Four years into the reign of the most successful coach in the history of English women's football, what exactly is Wiegman-ball? And how is it possible that days before a European Championship final, we don't even know the answer? Wiegman may be a coach of the Dutch school, but perhaps her formative experience as a footballer was playing at a Fifa invitational tournament in China in 1988. There she met the US national team coach Anson Dorrance, who was impressed with the young defensive midfielder and invited her to train at the University of North Carolina the following year. That year with the Tar Heels opened a world of possibility. 'It was a soccer paradise,' she later said. She worked with Dorrance, played with all-time greats such as Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly, trained at world-class facilities, returned to the Netherlands with a creed that would shape her. Creating success in women's football was not purely a theoretical exercise. It was about building a culture, being professional, showing ambition, exhibiting an elite mentality. Whatever it takes, you do it. Perhaps in retrospect this helps to explain why so many of Wiegman's triumphs with England have felt vaguely American in character: that sense of manifest destiny, the superior physicality, a cold confidence in getting the job done, a belief above all that trophies are won through sheer force of will. It is by now no coincidence that England have compiled a litany of major tournament wins undeserved on the simple run of play. Spain in 2022. Colombia and Nigeria in 2023. Sweden and now Italy in 2025: victory as an extension of identity. And of course the fumble by Laura Giuliani for Agyemang's opening goal and the crucial late miss by Emma Severini and the extra-time foul by the same player are not mistakes that happen in a vacuum, but mistakes induced by pressure. Perhaps Wiegman's greatest achievement is to build a culture in which England's players can navigate their own way through adversity, never get disheartened, never relinquish their desire to take the thing they do not deserve. This is what sees you through the tough moments, against more limited and tiring opponents. England's ability to produce a swell of pressure in the closing minutes remains unparalleled. It may well be the closest thing England have to an actual ideology, the 'proper England' of which so many in the camp have spoken. 'You can never write the English off,' Kelly said afterwards. 'I don't think you'll find a team in world football with more fight and more resilience,' Bronze said. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion The fact that this can be read as deeply disrespectful to the beaten Italians – what, did they simply not fight as hard? – is beside the point. Wiegman's focus on culture – the underrated skill of binding 23 players for a month – is what gets England through the big moments. England do not lie down. England stay united right until the end. Then some things happen, and it's best not trying to analyse those too much. There are of course similarities here with the other great England coach of this era. Gareth Southgate was also a culture guy rather than a tactics guy, a healer rather than a technician, a man whose gift – and it really was a gift – was not to micro-manage or theorise but simply to create the right environment for gifted athletes to thrive for four weeks. To make the chore of international football feel fun. To find the right emotional blend. What is Southgate's tactical identity? Beyond a weird predilection for playing right-footers at left-back, it's hard to pin down. The caveat is that while this is a reliable way of progressing in tournaments, it is an extremely unreliable way of winning tournaments. Teams that are tactically inchoate but blessed with gifted individuals and an unshakeable mentality can win big pots in the absence of a genuinely great alternative. We think of the USA in 2019, Portugal in the men's European Championship of 2016, arguably England in 2022. Meanwhile England's habit of grimacing their way through knockout football almost won them the biggest prize of all in 2023, only for Spain to outclass them in the final. It's instructive revisiting the post-mortem of that match, a spirited and honourable defeat, and yet one in which pretty much nobody in England gear was capable of explaining. But hang on. If victories are all about fight and resilience and spirit and never giving up, then do defeats mean you didn't try hard enough? That you didn't want it enough? That you gave up? Of course not. 'If we put the ball in the back of the net, it's game on,' said Millie Bright. Georgia Stanway thought England were 'unlucky'. Wiegman, having watched Mary Earps save Jenni Hermoso's penalty in the 70th minute, was convinced that the momentum of the game would inevitably lead to a goal. 'Now we are going to get to 1-1,' she said afterwards. 'But we didn't.' Perhaps it was no surprise that, as England shuffle towards their next final, nobody really seems to be able to put their finger on why they lost the last. Doing so, of course, would involve acknowledging England's technical inferiority, their inability to take and recycle the ball under pressure, the lack of sophisticated passers being produced by the English game, the basic absence of process. Better by far to file it away as a twist of fate, bad luck, a random bounce of the ball, just something that happens. And if true, then England – one of the best-resourced and most talented squads in world football – have a puncher's chance of lifting the trophy on Sunday night. Perhaps ultimately this is all they want, all they ever required. The TV ratings will be good either way. Perhaps Wiegman's description of England's Euro 2025 as a movie was more apposite than she realised. After all, when you're watching a movie, you're not really involved. You're just sitting there, waiting for the plot to unfold in front of you.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Michelle Agyemang's spectacular rise from ballgirl to Lionesses' gamechanger
On the afternoon of Wednesday 2 April, Arsenal's Michelle Agyemang was sitting pitchside at St George's Park, watching her England Under-19 teammates cruise to a European Championship qualifier victory against Belgium, unable to play because of suspension. With the senior Lionesses also based at the national football centre that week, the England manager, Sarina Wiegman, and many of her staff came along to observe the 6-0 win and several of the England players – including the captain, Leah Williamson – chatted with Agyemang in the seating area. Little could the 19-year-old have known that, just over three months later, she would be the Lionesses' saviour – twice – in the knockout stages of Euro 2025. A year ago, Agyemang scored a hat-trick for England at the Under-19 European Championship but few could have been bold enough to predict she would burst into the nation's hearts on the grander stage so soon. Yet, that week in April, events were about to unfold that would transform not only her summer fortunes but England's too. On the Saturday Agyemang scored in a strong performance to help the Under-19s to defeat Austria 5-1 and the following day she was drafted into the senior squad for the first time to cover for the injured Alessia Russo. A few days later she made her senior England debut, coming on against Belgium in the 80th minute and scoring 41 seconds later with only her second touch. In Switzerland this summer she has showed why she is so special. With the Lionesses struggling for form – and goals – in their defence of the European Championship they won in 2022 she has twice come on to save them from elimination. In the quarter-final against Sweden, England were 2-0 down when Agyemang replaced Georgia Stanway after 70 minutes, scoring the all-important equaliser before the Lionesses won on penalties. In the semi-final against Italy, she entered the fray as late as the 85th minute and equalised deep into added time. Chloe Kelly scored the winner in extra time and England now have the chance to defend their crown on Sunday in Basel. Agyemang, who grew up in the Essex town of South Ockendon, with parents of Ghanaian descent, was not even born when England hosted Euro 2005 but she has long been tipped to reach the top and has been playing for Arsenal's age-group teams since the age of six. Football isn't the only thing in Agyemang's life. She is studying business management at King's College London, as part of its sport and wellness programme. She was 'brought up on gospel music' and revealed after England's win against Sweden that she has brought her piano over. 'The kitman brought it over in a van. It's calm and relaxing,' she said. 'Lottie [Wubben-Moy, her Arsenal and England teammate] asked me to play for her – she came to my room and I played a few things for her, which was nice.' If ever the Football Association wanted an example of the benefits of integrating all of the youth international and senior sides together at St George's Park, and of the advantages of the interconnected pathway and dialogue between senior and youth-pathway coaches, Agyemang grabbing her golden opportunity in that week in April with both hands was it. Yes, it is true that it cannot have been in Wiegman's plans for Russo to pick up a knock during that April camp so that a teenager would need to be called upon for the trip to Belgium, and the Dutchwoman would be the first to admit that. The idea of Agyemang scoring crucial goals this summer to help propel England to their third consecutive major final was surely not one she imagined. It is also true, though, that England's pathway coaches have admired Agyemang for years and she has long been tipped as a senior star. In the Women's Super League, however, she was getting relatively few moments to shine during her season-long loan spell with Brighton, for whom she made 17 WSL appearances last term but just three starts, scoring three times in the 576 minutes she featured on the pitch. Asked about Agyemang's talents, during England's full-squad media day at St George's Park in June, Williamson said: 'I remember the first time she played because she came and flattened me in training. I was too slow on it and I think I gave her a bit of stick about it, but in my head I thought: 'She's got something about her'. [She is] someone who you can't give a second to. 'In training [in June], I was screaming for a pass and she put it top bins and I thought: 'I ain't going to say nothing'. So my first impression was, she let me know she was there, which I love. As a young player coming through, you can do all the fancy flicks and tricks you want, but somebody needs to know about you, and you need to tell people that you're there, and that's what she does.' Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Ask anyone close to the England squad and you will hear similar stories of Agyemang firing powerful shots into the top corner at England's training base on the outskirts of Zurich during this tournament, while others also speak of a polite, unassuming and well-spoken teenager who conducts herself with a maturity far beyond her years. Growing up, fittingly one of the youngster's idols was Theo Walcott, the former Arsenal forward who was the surprise last-gasp inclusion in England's men's 2006 World Cup squad. However, the difference is that Walcott – then aged 17 – was not given any match minutes in that tournament by Sven-Göran Eriksson whereas Wiegman has entrusted Agyemang to be a gamechanging substitute. With three goals from her four senior appearances, her fearless and composed performances – she also hit the crossbar against Italy with an audacious effort – have been so strong that Wiegman was asked in her post-match press conference about whether Agyemang's displays were forcing her to rethink whether she should play even more. The head coach replied: 'She's not forcing me. She is very grateful that she gets minutes. She's ready for it. Her growth and development went so quickly. From not starting at Brighton, 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.' To describe her rise as rapid would be a vast understatement. Not even four years ago, Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley for Wiegman's first match at the national stadium. She will surely play a role, one way or another, in the Lionesses' European final in Basel on Sunday, no longer watching on from the sides but now quickly becoming a household name.
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Chloe Kelly rakes in whopping £8k per post but she's NOT top-earning Lioness as Instagram and TikTok rich list revealed
CHLOE KELLY can earn an estimated £8,000 per sponsored social media post, a recent report claims. But the England hero isn't thought to be the top-earning member of the Lionesses on social media. 8 8 Kelly, 27, was England's hero as they won Euro 2022, famously scoring the winning goal in the final against Germany. The Arsenal ace was also the star of the show in last night's semi-final victory over Italy in Geneva, rising from the bench to grab the clincher with just a minute remaining in extra time. Amid the Lionesses' success, boffins over at Best New Bingo Sites have crunched the numbers to determine how much stars of the team can earn on social media. At the time of their study, Kelly had 978,000 Instagram followers and a further 320.7K on TikTok. Having crunched the numbers, the study found that the forward could earn £7,708.60 per sponsored Insta post and £384.92 on TikTok, making a combined £8,093.53. This is second among the Lionesses, only to Kelly's team-mate at club and international level, Leah Williamson. The England skipper has 1.1 million Instagram followers, which equates to £8,661.35 per sponsored post. While she can also add a further £278.74 per post to her 231.9K-strong TikTok following. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 8 8 8 8 Williamson has several brand partnerships, including Pepsi and Weetabix. Arsenal dominate the top three, with Alessia Russo at No3 with 912,000 Insta followers and a sponsored post value of £7,275.53, alongside £466.62 from posts to her 390.2K TikTok followers. England stars cheekily celebrate with pizza in stands after dumping out Italy Fourth is Chelsea star Lauren James, who at the time of the study had 862,000 Instagram followers and 312.1K TikTok followers. This equates to £7,015.69 per sponsored Insta post and 379.47 on TikTok, with James involved in a Pepsi campaign alongside Williamson. Next up is Manchester United star Ella Toone, who can earn £7,089.62 per post across Instagram and TikTok, with the popular ace possessing the Lionesses' biggest following on the latter at 716,000. Lucy Bronze is just behind on £6,927.34 per post across the two platforms, ahead of Beth Mead on £5,393.56 and Alex Greenwood on £5,080.71. Georgia Stanway is ninth on a combined £4,182.35, with Keira Walsh rounding off the top 10 with £3,897.61. And no doubt if England bring it home again on Sunday, those numbers will only shoot up further. 8 8
The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
England 2-1 Italy: Women's Euro 2025 semi-final player ratings
Hannah Hampton Looked strong aerially and made a crucial save on 86 minutes, keeping England alive. 7/10 Lucy Bronze Made good runs but lacked a decisive pass. Had a header cleared off the line. 6 Leah Williamson Defended some awkward bouncing balls well. Sacrificed when England went for the jugular late in normal time. 6 Esme Morgan Looked very composed, did well to halt several Italy breaks and fully justified her inclusion. 7 Alex Greenwood Beaten for Italy's opener. Did not find her passing range. Defended well in extra time. 6 Keira Walsh Tried and tried to get England going, spreading the ball wide in the second half whenever she could. 6 Georgia Stanway Tougher and more energetic in the second half after a relatively quiet first half. 6 Ella Toone Plenty of good movement, again. Adventurous in attack but lacked that killer final ball. 6 Lauren James Had a good chance saved. Never quite found top gear. Withdrawn with an injury. 6 Alessia Russo Not afforded any room by Italy's three centre-backs. Perhaps tired after playing 120 minutes last time. 6 Lauren Hemp Found space but could not find her crossing range. Lacked composure in front of goal. 5 Substitutes Beth Mead (James h-t) Did well despite being asked to switch inside and play out of position in midfield again, 6; Chloe Kelly (Stanway 77) Should have been brought on a lot sooner, 8; Michelle Agyemang (Williamson 85) Is 19 years of age too young to receive a damehood? She was simply outstanding, 9; Aggie Beever-Jones (Russo 85) Headed wide at the end of second-half stoppage time but it was merely a half-chance, 6; Grace Clinton (Walsh 106) 6; Jess Carter (Greenwood 120) 6. Laura Giuliani Saved well from James early on. Dealt well with England's crosses. Parried the late penalty. 7 Elisabetta Oliviero Looked very quick over 10 yards. Defended well against Hemp when they battled one-on-one. 7 Martina Lenzini A decent performance to help frustrate England before she was replaced after 89 minutes. 6 Cecilia Salvai Looked strong for the first 80 minutes but she was outperformed by Agyemang after the striker's introduction. 6 Elena Linari Showed good strength and anticipation for an hour. Poor foul meant she was deservedly booked. 7 Lucia Di Guglielmo Had a very good game initially but was powerless to stop Kelly's mazy runs. 7 Sofia Cantore Skilful player. Denied by a second-half Hampton save, although it was straight at the keeper. 7 Arianna Caruso A terrific player who had a very impressive tournament. Good signing for Bayern Munich. 7 Manuela Giugliano Helped to stop England's midfield clicking into gear for much of the contest. Clever, technical player. 7 Barbara Bonansea Took her goal superbly. Italy were notably weaker once she was taken off in the 73rd minute. 7 Cristiana Girelli Linked play superbly. Looked heartbroken to go off injured, which changed the game. 7 Substitutes Martina Piemonte (Girelli 64) Put herself about, headed over with a half-chance, 7; Michela Cambiaghi (Cantore 73) 6; Emma Severini (Bonansea 73) 6; Julie Piga (Lenzini 89) 6; Giada Greggi (Giugliano 89) 6.
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Leah Williamson admits she has been ‘annoyed' by England's Euros performances before comebacks
England captain Leah Williamson admitted that she has been 'annoyed' by aspects of the Lionesses ' recent performances at Euro 2025, though added that the team 'deserve their flowers' for reaching the final. The Lionesses went 1-0 down to Italy in there first half of their Euro 2025 semi-final last night and needed a 96th-minute equaliser from 19-year-old substitute Michelle Agyemang to save their Euros campaign, before Chloe Kelly wrapped up a dramatic comeback in extra time with a rebound after seeing her penalty saved. It marked the second knockout game in a row in which England needed to claw back a deficit, with the Lionesses having been 2-0 down to Sweden in the quarter-finals before winning a remarkable penalty shootout. And speaking after the semi-final victory in Geneva, William said she was 'very proud', though at the same time 'annoyed that we get ourselves into certain situations'. 'Those girls deserve their flowers, and everybody just played their role,' said Williamson. 'We get ourselves into certain situations with miscommunications or not doing exactly what the plan says, but to bounce back like that, you can't take anything away from the team or those girls, it is incredible. 'It has not been smooth sailing and I feel like things haven't necessarily gone to plan,' continued Williamson, before adding that 'the level just keeps rising and there are more and more unknowns and you have to be ready for everything'. The Lionesses will face either Germany or Spain in the final in Basel on Sunday, with that game throwing together either a rematch of the Euros final in 2022 – in which England beat Germany 2-1 – or a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final, which Sarina Wiegman's side lost 1-0 to Spain. That match will likely be the toughest challenge of the tournament so far, with world champions Spain in particular having long been the pre-tournament favourites. But Williamson further explained that she doesn't 'think it has gone smooth sailing for anybody yet, which is the point', and England just need to 'keep rising as well'. 'It makes a great tournament and it shows what is going on. We just have to keep rising as well, this new England has to find their feet quicker,' said Williamson. 'We have one more to go. I promise you we will give it everything we can,' she added. Germany face Spain in the other semi-final in Zurich on Wednesday night, before England take on the winner of that match in the final in Basel on Sunday, 27 July, with kick-off at 5pm BST.
