England hero Chloe Kelly says Lionesses ‘deserve’ Euro 2025 final place | OneFootball

England Women “deserve” their place in the final of Euro 2025, says Chloe Kelly following her late winner against Italy in the semi-finals.

Barbara Bonansea gave Le Azzure the lead in the 33rd minute, which they came so close to holding onto until super sub Michelle Agyemang fired the ball between goalkeeper Laura Giuliani’s leg for a 96th-minute equaliser.

Italy regrouped in extra time, but the Lionesses took control of the second period to apply increasing pressure on the underdogs. Agyemang popped up again, this time with an attempt to lob the goalie which came off the crossbar.

The moment of truth arrived deep into extra time as Beth Mead was awarded a dubious penalty following a brief tussle. Kelly saw her attempt stopped by Giuliani, but was the quickest to react for the rebound to send England through to a second consecutive Euros decider.

England hero Kelly: Lionesses deserve Euro 2025 final place

“It feels unbelievable,” she told ITV. “Such a great feeling. This team deserves nothing but that. Three finals on the bounce and we want more.”

It’s not the first time Kelly has found the net in a big game for the Lionesses, having scored the winner against Germany in extra time of the Euro 2022 final.

“I just try my best for the team,” she said. “It wasn’t supposed to go like that [the penalty] but obviously the keeper had done her homework. We go back to the drawing board and keep practicing those penalties. Luckily I got there for the tap-in.”

Kelly lauded Agyemang for her impact on the game after being introduced with five minutes of normal time remaining.

“She’s unbelievable, she should have scored again when she hit the crossbar. She’s got the world at her feet. A young player with a bright future. I’m absolutely buzzing for her.

“This team shows resilience but we fight back and hopefully we can make it easier for ourselves, we don’t need that panic.”

As for whether England can now go on and retain their European Championship crown, Kelly said: “We have the hope, we have the belief and we have the quality so we just need to keep at it, and keep working hard at training to make sure we’re right at the weekend.”

Read – Every tournament England has ever won as Young Lions retain U21 Euros title

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