When it seemed that the reign of England, the European women's champion, was about to end, the substitutes jumped in to save the day again, with substitutes Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly scoring the two goals that put England in the final of the 2025 European Football Championship.
After trailing 0-1 until stoppage time against Italy in the semi-finals of the 2025 European Championship, the defending champion seemed on its way to defeat, but Michelle Agyemang equalized, imposing extra time, and then Chloe Kelly snatched the winning goal, which secured England a place in the final match next Sunday in Basel.
For the second match in a row, the two substitutes participated and proved decisive, and with Beth Mead also shining among the substitutes, England coach Sarina Wegman faces some welcome problems in choosing the lineup before the final match against Germany or Spain.
As she did against Sweden in the quarter-finals, Michelle Agyemang came on as a substitute to equalize, and although this match reached penalty kicks, this time Kelly only needed to follow up on a rebound from a late penalty kick to send her team to the final.Michelle Agyemang has been a giant of the England national team in her alternative participation during the tournament so far, providing strength, physical fitness and scoring sense when the team needed it most; This is not bad for a 19-year-old girl, who was collecting balls in an England national team match at «Wembley» Stadium just 4 years ago.Kelly's performance on the wing was also perfect, as her unwavering confidence allowed her to constantly create chances and change every match as soon as she participated.Italy defended with a combination of courage and wisdom, which was enough to qualify for the final for the first time since 1997.
Their strategy of compressing spaces and preventing curved balls behind their defence effectively restricted England's attack, limiting striker Alicia Russo's ability to touch the ball inside the penalty area except to a limited extent.Agyemang's participation and combination of skill and fitness gave England a more direct weapon, and with Kelly launching attacks on the flanks, the defending champions suddenly seemed to have a glimmer of hope.Italy goalkeeper Laura Giuliani made a mistake in dealing with the cross pass that Agyemang took advantage of, and scored the equalizer from it. The goalkeeper also blocked Kelly's penalty kick in extra time, but she was unable to prevent her from shooting the rebound into the goal, so the wonderful substitutes succeeded once again in saving England.
Sarina Wegman said happily, praising the role of her supporting crew in this wonderful ending: «We will make a movie one day! Well, this is a movie, oh my God, it's amazing. Here we are again, it's really special».
