Latest news with #Lionesses
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Southend High School pupil helps England reach Euro 2025
FORMER Southend High School pupil Michelle Agyemang helped fire England into the Euro 2025 final tonight. The South Ockendon born striker bagged a injury time equaliser for the Lionesses against Italy before Chloe Kelly bagged the winner in the extra time. READ MORE: £6 for six months, subscribe now for the most extensive Southend United coverage And Kelly was again full of praise for fellow substitute Agyemang. 'Big Mich at it again," said Kelly. 'She's unbelievable and she should have scored again, that one that hit the crossbar. '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. 'But this team shows resilience again and we fight back. "Hopefully we can make it a little bit easier for ourselves – we don't need that panic.' Barbara Bonansea stunned the England support into silence when she opened the scoring in the 33rd minute for the underdog Italians, who had reached their first European semi-final in 28 years. The Lionesses, in their sixth straight major tournament final four appearance, were on the brink of elimination when 19-year-old Agyemang once again came off the bench and rescued Sarina Wiegman's side with a second-half stoppage-time equaliser. England were gifted a penalty late in the second period of extra time and, though Kelly's initial attempt was saved, the Arsenal forward made no mistake with her second opportunity when she emphatically buried the rebound.
Metro
27 minutes ago
- Sport
- Metro
Ian Wright sends warning to 'lucky' Lionesses after reaching Euro 2025 final
Ian Wright warns England their 'luck is going to run out' after reaching the Euro 2025 final, saying the Lionesses must 'start games better'. England were just seconds away from being knocked out of the European Championships on Tuesday night after Italy took a first-half lead in their semi-final clash in Geneva. Once again, teenager Michelle Agyemang was required to score a late equaliser, this time in the sixth minute of injury time which sent the match to extra-time. Fellow super sub Chloe Kelly then scored the winner in the 119th minute, squeezing in the rebound after her penalty was saved by Laura Giuliani. While a far better performance then their shootout win over Sweden in the quarter-finals, Sarina Wiegman's side were once again sluggish out of the gate and, for the third time in five games, found themselves trailing at the break. The Lionesses spirit and grit is unquestionable but while Wright praised this, he warns it is not sustainable enough to see them triumph at the end of the tournament. 'We need to start games better than we're starting games. 2-0 down in the game against Sweden,' the Arsenal and England legend said on his return to ITV punditry. 'We play tournament football. You never go into a game with England and feel really comfortable. 'For some reason, we make it very difficult and then we drag ourselves through because we've got such determination. We've got such character. 'You can't continue to rely on that. At some stage that luck is going to run out and we're going to need to find a way to start games better, and get a foothold in the game.' England will play either Germany or Spain in Sunday's final, setting up a rematch of the Euro 2022 final – which they won – or the 2023 World Cup final – which they lost. Either way, Wright believes the Lionesses face a very tough test and admits he is not fully convinced by Wiegman's tactical set-up, both for how they start and finish games. 'I'm not really sure about plan A or plan B,' the former striker added. 'Germany are very physical, very direct, which won't suit us. Spain play a much more technical game and keep the ball, that might suit us a little bit more. More Trending Pubs can stay open until 1am for England vs Italy Euros semi final 'We take too long to start games. I don't know what it is but we take too long to get into our stride so we need to get into that.' Wiegman for her part agrees with Wright, saying: 'Coming behind against Italy, you know you have a problem and we had some serious challenges in the game. 'First-half we did not play well, not enough energy in the game. Second-half we were better, but in the final third they made a lot of blocks, won a lot of duels were very aggressive. 'We always have the opportunity to bring fresh players in who bring a lot of quality. We ended with lots of players up front because it was wall, we had to make a hole in the wall.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: When is the Women's Euro 2025 final and who are England facing? MORE: Sarina Wiegman explains decision to leave out Jess Carter for England's Euro 2025 semi-final with Italy MORE: Jess Carter proves there's no room for error as a Black player
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chloe Kelly believes Lionesses have what it takes to retain Euros title despite unconvincing campaign
England's matchwinner Chloe Kelly insists the Lionesses have the 'belief' to defend their European crown and win the Euros once more. Kelly scored the winning goal for England with just minutes of extra time remaining in Tuesday night's 2-1 semi-final victory over Italy in Geneva to keep their title defence on track and send them to another Euros final. After goalkeeper Laura Giuliani guessed the right way and saved Kelly's spot-kick, the Arsenal winger reacted fastest to slot home the rebound and eliminate the Italians. 'It feels unbelievable,' she told ITV Sport afterwards. 'Such a great feeling. This team deserves nothing but that. Three finals on the bounce and we want more. 'This team shows resilience but we fight back and hopefully we can make it easier for ourselves, we don't need that panic.' Asked whether the Lionesses can win the tournament again, she replied: 'We have the hope, we have the belief and we have the quality so we just need to keep at it, and keep working hard at training to make sure we're right next weekend.' Kelly's biggest goal came late in extra time against Germany in the final of Euro 2022, when she netted the winner to see the Lionesses win their maiden major title. She said of scoring big goals for her country: 'I just try my best for the team. It wasn't supposed to go like that [the penalty] but obviously the keeper had done her homework. 'We go back to the drawing board and keep practising those penalties. Luckily, I got there for the tap-in.' The match went to extra time after teenage substitute Michelle Agyemang scored an equaliser for England at the end of extra time in dramatic fashion. She had also scored the equaliser against Sweden in the quarter-final. 'She's unbelievable,' Kelly said of Agyemang. 'She should have scored again when she hit the crossbar. 'She's got the world at her feet. A young player with a bright future. I'm absolutely buzzing for her.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England 2-1 Italy: Chloe Kelly produces last-minute winner to mark Lionesses unlikely Euro finalists
England are through to the 2025 European Championship final after beating Italy 2-1 in a dramatic semi-final showdown. The Lionesses fell behind in the first half as Barbara Bonansea capitalised on a defensive lapse to fire the Italians in front. But a 96th-minute equaliser for England came courtesy of teenaged substitute Michelle Agyemang, who coolly slotted her effort past Laura Giualiani to send the white and red portion of the crowd into raptures and the tie into extra time. After a tense first period of post-regulation play, the Lionesses were awarded a late penalty when Emma Severini was adjudged to have fouled Beth Mead. Up stepped Chloe Kelly, who - after seeing her first attempt saved - rushed forward to poke home the decisive goal that launched England into a third major final in three years. It means Sarina Wiegman's squad, despite looking down, out and largely dead on their feet before Agyemang's lifeline, will have the chance to defend the European title they won four years ago. England have now also reached all of the last six European Championship finals between the senior men, women and Under-21s. 'Relief' remained the overwhelming emotion at the final whistle for Wiegman, who now must wait for the result of tomorrow night's semi-final between record eight-time Euro winners Germany and reigning world champions Spain to see who her team will face in Sunday's final bout in Basel. Some questions may be asked of the Dutch manager, who were very nearly downed by this year's dark horses. But Wiegman will point to her substitutions, despite being left until typically late in the match, proving the difference. 'We had some serious challenges in this game,' she said after full time. 'The first half we didn't play well, we didn't have energy. The second half we did better but they defended really well, too. Wiegman continued: 'We say we can win by any means. We take risks and this team just keeps going, we never give up.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'The proud Lionesses': King Charles and Prince William join the nation in congratulating England on win against Italy - and spot in the final
King Charles and Prince William have congratulated the Lionesses on their win against Italy in the European Championship semi-final. After a gut-wrenching match England beat Italy 2-1 and have made it to the final where they will take on either Germany or Spain this Sunday. The win has left the King extremely 'proud' of the team who he hopes will 'roar to victory once more'. In a statement posted on X he wrote: 'My wife and I join all our family in wishing you, the proud Lionesses, our warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the U.E.F.A EURO tournament. 'Your journey to this stage has been nothing short of remarkable, showcasing the skill, determination (and test of nerve!) for which your team is so rightly celebrated. 'Knowing the Lionesses' fighting spirit, I suspect we are in for another thrilling encounter on Sunday. 'Your achievements continue to inspire countless girls and women across the nation, proving once again that with dedication and teamwork, anything is possible. 'Good luck, England. May you roar to victory once more.' Meanwhile Prince William congratulated the team on their display. He wrote: 'Brilliant performance! One game from glory! #WEURO2025'. Initially, it seemed as if the Lionesses were going to be knocked out of the tournament - losing 1-0 with less than a minute left of the match. But in an astonishing turn of events 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang scored an equaliser in the 96th minute at the match in Switzerland. After the two teams equalised the match went to extra time and Chloe Kelly scored a penalty on the rebound - taking the team to victory. The match came after the team were criticised by the head of football's international anti-discriminatory body for their decision to stop taking the knee after Jess Carter was racially abused. Centre-back Carter, who played 70 minutes of England's Euro 2025 quarter-final victory over Sweden, said she would be stepping away from social media after she received a 'lot' of online hate following the win. The Lionesses later said they would no longer be taking the knee, as it was 'clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism ' and that they would instead aim to create a new statement that sparks 'conversation and change'. In a statement, the Lionesses said: 'We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism. No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life. 'Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin. 'Until now we have chosen to take the knee before matches. 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. 'We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done. For now, we will return our total focus to an important semi-final. 'In the meantime, we know the FA are working with UK police and the appropriate bodies. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.'
