Chloe Kelly on Tuesday scored a dramatic late winner in extra-time as reigning champions England came from behind to beat Italy 2-1 and reach the UEFA Women’s Euro final.
The Lionesses had been on the brink of elimination as they trailed to Barbara Bonansea’s first-half strike for surprise semi-finalists Italy in Geneva.
However, after their remarkable comeback from two goals down to beat Sweden on penalties in last week’s quarter-final, they pulled off more heroics here.
Photo: AFP
Michelle Agyemang came off the bench and forced the extra period by equalizing in the 96th minute, before fellow substitute Kelly completed the turnaround by following in to score the winner in the 119th minute after her penalty had been saved.
“It does feel like a movie. When it finishes like that I am enjoying it, but it was a little bit dramatic,” England coach Sarina Wiegman said with a smile.
Her team are through to their third consecutive major tournament final and the 2022 European champions head to Basel for Sunday’s showpiece.
That would either be a repeat of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, which they lost to Spain, or a repeat of the last Euro final, in which they defeated Germany at Wembley — those sides were to meet in their semi last night.
“That is what happens when a great team comes together and makes things happen — three consecutive finals playing under an unbelievable manager in Sarina,” said Kelly, the Arsenal forward who got the winner in the 2022 Euro final. “It is incredible to be part of this special team. I am so proud.”
It has been quite a ride for England, who had already produced a stunning comeback against Sweden, when they trailed 2-0 before two goals by Lucy Bronze and Agyemang in the space of three minutes late on forced extra-time and they eventually advanced on penalties.
“We know with the players we have in the squad that we can always score more because we have shown that multiple times,” Wiegman said. “At the end we did it and then we got extra-time, and then we got the penalty. We were a bit lucky to score it in the second stage, but we are through.”
Wiegman said she felt many emotions after the victory.
“I have many emotions again. I feel relief, I feel happy — it feels a bit surreal, but we are here and we are going to the final,” she said.
However, the nature of the defeat for Italy was cruel.
Many of their players were in tears at full time, as Le Azzurre — who are ranked 13th in the world and were not expected to come this far — fell short of reaching a first final since the 1997 Euros.
“It hurts, but we are very proud for all that we have done,” said Italy coach Andrea Soncin, who took charge of the team in 2023 and is now eyeing the 2027 World Cup.
“The fact we were just a minute away from the final can be encouraging for us,” he added. “We will need a few days to get over this bitter moment, but we will keep growing, and our future goal is to go to the World Cup in Brazil so we are already looking forward.”
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