Palms on her head, disbelief clouding her ideas, Lioness defender Lucy Bronze stood frozen in entrance of the purpose. England have been 1-0 down within the Girls’s Euro 2025 remaining to the match favourites, Spain, and their crew was a chaotic mess.
It was a scenario that was all too acquainted.
For the third match in a row, England’s gamers stared on the scoreboard, devoid of solutions. A Twenty fifth-minute header from Mariona Caldentey, the ultimate contact on a blistering Spanish transfer down the precise channel, had silenced the roaring Lionesses.
“Not once more,” was the collective murmur of the England followers in every single place, from the tens of hundreds packed into Basel’s St Jakob-Park in Switzerland, to the tens of millions watching nervously again residence. They’d seen this downbeat script earlier than: a first-half Spain purpose within the 2023 FIFA World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, had crushed English hearts.
However this time, the ending was England’s to put in writing.
Residing as much as their billing because the comeback queens of the match, the Lionesses clawed their manner again into the competition via Alessia Russo’s equaliser within the second half, forcing the world champions into additional time.
Two hours of soccer noticed the statistics closely favour La Roja, however for all their ability and swagger, it was England’s grit and grind that carried them via to victory.
“Soccer is chaos,” England coach Sarina Wiegman instructed the BBC after driving a rollercoaster of feelings on the touchline as her facet beat Spain 3-1 on penalties.
Along with her signature prancing run-up, Chloe Kelly buried the ultimate spot kick into the web, triumphantly punching her fist within the air. The comeback, or “remontada” because the Spaniards name it, was full.
The calm and composed Kelly, who additionally arrange Russo’s header, was as soon as once more the heroic face of England’s title-winning crew, simply as she was at Wembley three years ago at Euro 2022.
“The primary time was so good, we needed to do it twice,” remarked the 27-year-old, flashing a smile as she proudly held up the coveted gold medal hanging round her neck.
Tremendous-subs steal the present
Sunday’s comeback victory was a becoming nod to England’s Euro 2025 marketing campaign: thrilling, chaotic and entertaining.
For a crew that led for just below 5 minutes within the knockout stage, their capacity to outlive, adapt and strike when it mattered most outlined their championship journey.
And in doing so, they scripted one of many best chapters in English soccer historical past, a triumph rivalled solely by the boys’s World Cup win at residence in 1966.
“It has been essentially the most chaotic match on the pitch…. From the primary recreation, it was chaos,” mentioned Dutchwoman Wiegman, who now has three Euro titles in her resume.
“Dropping your first recreation and turning into European champions is unimaginable.”
Certainly, England’s title defence started with a 2-1 loss to France, casting early doubt over their credentials as true contenders. However resounding victories – a 4-0 thrashing of the mighty Netherlands and a 6-1 rout of neighbours Wales – steadied the ship as they sailed via to the knockouts.
The storm, although, arrived quickly sufficient, bringing with it the final word take a look at of England’s resolve on the enterprise finish of the match. The quarterfinals and semifinals pushed the crew to the brink, demanding utmost composure from the gamers within the nerve-racking late-game moments. They rose to every event, with Wiegman’s tactical nous and the squad depth proving decisive.
Eleven minutes away from elimination within the quarterfinals, teen sensation Michelle Agyemang scored an outstanding equaliser in opposition to Sweden, as England recovered from two targets right down to win 3-2 on penalties.
The 19-year-old reserve participant, whose surname fittingly means “saviour of the nation“, as soon as once more stepped up when it mattered essentially the most, this time within the semifinals in opposition to Italy, netting a stoppage-time leveller to ship the match into additional time.
Tremendous-sub Kelly then completed the job, changing the rebound from a missed penalty within the dying seconds of additional time.
The influence of England’s interchange gamers on the match was unmatched. They have been straight concerned in 10 targets, twice as many as every other facet and essentially the most ever recorded in a single version of the match since 2013.
‘Robust instances don’t final’
Simply six months in the past, Kelly was struggling for minutes at Manchester Metropolis and not sure of her Euro 2025 spot, till a mortgage transfer to Arsenal modified her fortunes.
“Simply across the nook was a Champions League remaining, gained that, and now a Euros remaining, gained that,” mentioned Kelly, who has made a behavior of adjusting matches when it issues most.
“If that’s a narrative to inform somebody, perhaps experiencing one thing the identical, robust instances don’t final.”
Identical to Kelly, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton additionally overcame adversity to emerge as certainly one of England’s most impactful gamers on the European Championships.
The 24-year-old, enjoying in her first main match and filling in for the massive sneakers of Mary Earps, pulled off two sensible saves within the quarterfinals with a bloodied nostril earlier than thwarting away two extra essential purpose makes an attempt within the remaining, together with one from Aitana Bonmati, thought-about by many soccer commentators to be the most effective participant on the earth.
Born with a severe eye situation that also impacts her depth notion regardless of a number of surgical procedures, Hampton defied the percentages, ending her Euro marketing campaign with the participant of the match award within the remaining.
“I believe she’s accomplished wonderful,” Wiegman mentioned of Hampton. “It’s a bit like a fairytale to cease these penalties within the remaining of the Euros and to win it.”
Having weathered the storm in Switzerland, Wiegman and the Lionesses are again on residence soil. As they trip via roaring crowds of their open-top bus parade throughout London on Tuesday, the message is now not, “It’s coming residence”. This time, it’s staying residence.
