Lionesses stumble into final through blind luck but Agyemang offers glimpse of future | Jonathan Liew
This generation of great England footballers has had its time with Wiegman’s staunch loyalty to the class of 2022 exposing limitations
Hannah Hampton is up for the corner. It’s the fourth minute of injury time in the Euro 2025 semi-final. Every England player bar Chloe Kelly is within 20 yards of Italy’s goal. And as blisteringly underwhelming as England have been all night, this is still a team with an unerring sense of their own narrative, a belief in themselves, a taste for the dramatic climax.
The noise builds to a roar. The roar builds to a scream. Kelly puts her corner straight into the side netting. Hampton hangs her head and gallops back into more familiar territory. End of the road. England are done.
England fans made to sweat on another hair-raising night of drama for Lionesses | Nick Ames
After the nail-biting Sweden quarter-final, it was the same again as England somehow battled back to beat Italy and reach the Euro 2025 final
This time they needed only one penalty, although even that came with complications. England are through to the Euro 2025 final and, in keeping with the white-knuckle nature of their tournament, that tells only a fraction of the story.
Sarina Wiegman’s team were moments from losing against an unfancied Italy who had played the role of underdog to perfection, holding on to their first-half lead with an exemplary tactical performance. England looked down and out until Michelle Agyemang, the young Arsenal striker, seized on a loose ball and finished clinically in injury time. The Lionesses had got out of jail again and the breaks did not end there.