England's forward Chloe Kelly celebrates after scoring her team's second goal during the Uefa Women's Euro 2025 semifinal against Italy. Photo / AFP
It had looked like one rescue mission too many for this England team.
Defeat was beckoning, as it had against Sweden. It should have come then and it should have come in this semifinal with Italy in Geneva – but somehow, it did not. Somehow, yet again, the Lionesses found a way to get through.
Michelle Agyemang, the teenager who has gone from playing for the Under-19s to scoring in a Euros semifinal, decided England were not done yet.
With just one minute and 58 seconds left on the clock, she took one touch to control a loose ball, then another to send a composed finish into the back of Italy’s net.
After Agyemang’s heroics, it was Chloe Kelly’s turn to be the saviour. When Beth Mead was bundled to the ground by Emma Severini, referee Ivana Martincic pointed to the spot. Kelly stepped up, saw her penalty saved, but reacted quickly to convert the rebound.
Daft Punk’s Get Lucky played through the speakers as England celebrated reaching a third successive final and it felt fitting. They have been ahead in knockout matches at this tournament for a total of five minutes. This team have been lucky on more than one occasion in this tournament. But they are also resilient, determined and they just never know when to give up.
“We’re going to make a movie some day!” an ecstatic Wiegman said at fulltime. “Well this is a movie, my goodness, it’s unbelievable. Here we are again, it’s really, really special.”
No players epitomise that mentality more than Kelly and Agyemang. Kelly had to force through a move from Manchester City to Arsenal on transfer deadline day in January. The forward had been frozen out by City manager Gareth Taylor and had been told by Wiegman that she needed to play in order to retain her place in the England team.
True to her word, Wiegman omitted Kelly from her February squad because of her lack of game time but her performances for Arsenal soon saw her recalled. Kelly’s transfer may not have gone through had she not shared a statement on social media which said her mental wellbeing was suffering. Kelly has since spoken about how she wanted to give up football – thankfully, she did not.
Agyemang, meanwhile, may not have got her chance with the Lionesses had it not been for an injury to Alessia Russo in April. Russo’s withdrawal saw Agyemang called up to the senior team for England’s game in Belgium and she scored after just 41 seconds of coming on to the pitch. Since then, she has been the player to whom Wiegman has turned when she needs a goal.
Agyemang has averaged one every 35 minutes in her four England appearances – a truly remarkable stat, given she scored only three for Brighton during her loan spell there last season. She was inches away from winning the game in extra time before Kelly did, the forward producing a delicate lob which hit the crossbar.
“She has something special,” Wiegman said of Agyemang. “She’s only 19 years old, she’s very mature, she knows exactly what she has to do.
“When you talk about little things that she picks up straight away, because she’s not only in the 18-yard box very dangerous but when we have to go to her as a target player, she keeps the ball really well too. If she continues like this, she has a very bright future.”
Despite their close call with Sweden in last week’s quarter-final, England were the favourites against an Italian side who had not reached a final since 1993. The last time these two teams had met was a friendly in Marbella in early 2024, which the Lionesses won 5-1. But Italy have improved vastly since then and were more than worthy of their place in the semifinal. Their manager, Andrea Soncin, has fostered an incredible team spirit, as well as improving them tactically. Wiegman, meanwhile, said complacency would be the biggest mistake her team could make coming into this game.
But Italy outsmarted England and Wiegman for much of this game. The Lionesses manager made one change to the team who had beaten Sweden, bringing in Esme Morgan for Jess Carter, who had struggled in the quarter-final. Carter’s omission was purely for football reasons, rather than being to do with the horrific racist abuse she had suffered on social media in the build-up to this game. But the change to the back four did little to make England more solid in defence.
The left-hand side has been an ongoing problem and it was from that flank where Italy’s goal came in the 33rd minute. Sofia Cantore got in behind Alex Greenwood and Morgan and crossed to the back post, where Barbara Bonansea was waiting to smash into the top corner.
Wiegman waited until the 70th minute to make any substitutions against Sweden. England had not played as badly in this first half as they had in the quarter-final, but there was once again a strong argument for bold changes to be made at the break. Kelly and Agyemang had changed their fortunes in previous fixtures and England were crying out for their introduction once again.
The Lionesses were much better in the second half and created chances but lacked composure in the final third. Italy could have wrapped up the game but both Michela Cambiaghi and Severini were denied by a terrific double save by Hannah Hampton. An England goal did not look likely and it felt as though Wiegman had left it too late when she threw Agyemang on in the 85th minute. But the forward only needs a few seconds to produce some magic and with one touch and a finish, she took the game to extra time.
England just about edged a nervy extra time and their reward was a soft penalty. Severini did not make a lot of contact with Mead but there was enough for the forward to go down and for the referee to point to the spot.
Kelly did not score at the first attempt but she made no mistake with the second. Opposition teams have given England chance after chance to save themselves in this tournament. It is doubtful Spain or Germany will give them so many in the final. But after another night of redemption, you cannot bet against this team.