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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England 2-1 Italy AET - PLAYER RATINGS: Who is the Lionesses most consistent player? Which star redeemed themselves? And who is lacking end product?
Chloe Kelly scored a dramatic extra time winner as defending champions England came from behind to beat Italy 2-1 in Geneva to book their place in the European Championship finals. Kelly had seen her last-gasp penalty saved but raced into the rebound to fire Sarina Wiegman 's side in front in the 119th minute. England had been on the brink of heading out of the competition after Italy had led deep into stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes. Barbara Bonansea had put the underdogs ahead in the 33rd minute after England failed to clear a cross. Michelle Agyemang came to England's recue by scoring in the sixth minute of stoppage time to force the match into an additional period. The teenage substitute then struck the bar in added time, moments before England were awarded the ultimately decisive penalty for a foul on Beth Mead. Mail Sport's Tara Anson-Walsh rates the players after England booked their place in a third successive major final. England - 4-3-3 Hannah Hampton – 7 Backed up her Player of the Match quarter-final display with another confident performance. Commanded her box well and smothered an early Italy chance. Unable to do anything to keep out their early goal. England's most consistent player this Euros. Lucy Bronze – 5 Characteristically gung-ho defending and was lucky to get away with an early yellow card for a high leg tackle. Was caught out for a poor clearance that led to Bonansea's goal but wasn't entirely to blame. Leah Williamson – 6.5 Tasked with keeping her fellow captain and Italy's biggest goal threat Cristiana Girelli quiet and largely succeeded. Got her positioning right on the night and was often the only cool and measured head in an otherwise shaky back line. Esme Morgan – 5 Came in for Jess Carter and was unable to offer much of an improvement. Beaten for physicality in the build-up to Italy's opener. Uncertain with the ball in the first half but improved after the break and cut out an Italy counterattack midway through the second half. Alex Greenwood – 5.5 Had a difficult evening wrestling with Sofia Cantore and was caught completely out of position when Le Azzurre took the lead. Main positive came from her link-up play with club teammate Lauren Hemp on the left flank but her dazzling performances at World Cup seems a long time ago. Keira Walsh – 6.5 Done for pace on a number of occasions but grew into the game. Was England's biggest attacking threat at the beginning of the second half… which says something about the Lionesses' performance until the introduction of Agyemang and Kelly given Walsh has scored just twice in her 91 appearances. Ella Toone – 5.5 Did lots of running with little to show for it. Was visibly frustrated when the half-time whistle blew, shaking her head before running off the pitch. Her usual link-up play with Russo was missing but was still important defensively. Georgia Stanway – 5.5 Had a similar performance to Toone, putting in another tireless performance between the boxes and managing to pick out a couple of good passes for the Lionesses to counter-attack but hasn't looked like scoring this tournament. Withdrawn for Chloe Kelly. Lauren James – 4.5 Struggled to make an impact once again and wasted a good chance to score from close-range. Has looked pretty off it the last few games likely linked to a huge amount of game time after three months away. Seen putting ice on her foot after the break. Alessia Russo – 5.5 Gifted an early chance to give England the lead but sent it wide. Nine times out of 10 Russo would have buried it but that has, unfortunately, been the story of her tournament. Irreplaceable in the build-up but a glaring absence of end product and too isolated up front. Lauren Hemp – 6 England's brightest spark in the early stages of the game but lacked her usual composure in front of goal, missing two headed chances. Redeemed herself with the ball into the Italian goalkeeper Laura Giuliani which was spilled for Michelle Agyemang's goal. Not used: Charles, Le Tissier, Moorhouse, Park, Wubben-Moy. Sarina Wiegman – 6 Opted to twist and start Esme Morgan after Jess Carter's difficult night in the quarter-final against Sweden to little effect. Has seen something in Michelle Agyemang and her faith repaid in dividends. Can always rely on Chloe Kelly to get her out of a scrape and is now through to a fifth consecutive major tournament final… Referee: Ivana Martincic – 6. Attendance: 23, 539.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England: Sarina Wiegman has more questions to answer as gamechangers rescue Lionesses at Women's Euros
It tells you everything about this quarter-final that, afterwards, Sarina Wiegman admitted she thought England were going home on at least three separate occasions. England have enjoyed some dramatic and historic nights during Wiegman's tenure, but it is hard to recall one quite like this. Indeed, before Thursday, no team had ever come from two goals down to win a knockout game at a Women's Euros. The manner of England's victory over Sweden made it all the more remarkable. For 70 minutes, Wiegman's side were abject. Slow and off the pace, England could not handle the intensity of the game as they clung on for dear life. In truth, had it not been for Hannah Hampton, this tie would have been over long before the bench came to England's rescue. Wiegman deserves credit for how she changed the game with her substitutes. The Lionesses switched to a back three in defence as they went for broke, and it worked. The substitutes were at the heart of the goals, with Chloe Kelly's brilliant cross headed home by Lucy Bronze. Beth Mead then found Michelle Agyemang and, in the space of two minutes, England had turned the game on its head. After that, anything seemed possible - and the penalty shootout was scarcely believable. To sum up the chaotic nature of it, nine of the 14 spot-kicks were missed. Sweden's goalkeeper, Jennifer Falk, saved three in succession before blasting her own penalty over the bar when presented with the chance to win it. Fittingly, the decisive penalty was scored by Bronze simply putting her foot through the ball and smashing it into the roof of the net. 'That's a quality that is so strong in this team, that togetherness and fighting back,' said Wiegman. 'It shows so much resilience. 'I don't know why but this team is just incredible. They stick together. That is so powerful from this team. Then there is luck as well, yes, at least three times I thought we were out.' England are through, however, and now Wiegman must turn her attention to a semi-final showdown with Italy on Tuesday. The Lionesses will go into that tie as clear favourites, but there are issues that Wiegman must address. Even if England overcome Italy, they will have little chance against the likes of France or Spain in the final if they deliver a performance like this one against Sweden. England's issues were not new. The left side of the defence has been a long-standing concern throughout Wiegman's reign. Three years ago, Rachel Daly - a striker and top scorer in the Women's Super League two seasons ago - was the solution as she filled in at left-back. Sweden, like France before them, targeted the left side of England's defence. Wiegman eventually swapped centre-backs Jess Carter and Leah Williamson round, deploying the latter on the left, but by then England were already 2–0 down. They stick together. That is so powerful from this team. Then there is luck as well, yes, at least three times I thought we were out Sarina Wiegman England looked more solid when they moved to a back three and Wiegman will be tempted to start like that against Italy. Williamson limping off with an ankle injury complicates matters, though, as does Bronze requiring hamstring strapping to finish Thursday's match. Another perennial problem occurred last night, with Keira Walsh swamped in midfield and her influence reduced. The introduction of Kelly and Mead helped as England shifted play wide instead of forcing it through the middle. Both wingers could justifiably start on Tuesday, although Wiegman will be tempted to keep them on the bench. Having such firepower in reserve is a luxury few other sides enjoy. And then, there is Agyemang. Before this, the 19-year-old had played 14 minutes of international football. The Arsenal striker looked at home on the big stage, however, and she caused chaos alongside Russo with her pace and power. As with Kelly and Mead, she has made a strong case to start against Italy - especially if Wiegman opts to play in a 3-4-1-2 formation. Wiegman has plenty to ponder and she has, historically, always found the answers. There are many questions still to answer before Tuesday, though, and precious little time to do so.
