England wildcard Michelle Agyemang in a hurry to make Euro 25 impact | OneFootball

“It’s easy to look at the time and think there’s not enough left,” says the England wildcard Michelle Agyemang. “That’s the beauty of the game. It only takes 10 seconds to make an impact. Any time is good enough for me so I’m grateful for that opportunity.”

The 19-year-old forward is true to her word – it took her 41 seconds to score on her England debut, against Belgium in April. On Saturday, she was given four minutes of normal time against France. She made an impact, but despite a battling final 10 minutes the Lionesses could not salvage a point.

“There’s fire in the belly,” says Agyemang of the mood in camp since that opening-game defeat put their European title defence in jeopardy. “You can see everyone’s willing to go and get the result we need in the next game.

“It’s been the same goal from day one. We want to win the tournament and that one result doesn’t necessarily change anything. The Netherlands game is a stepping stone and we want to get past that and get towards the trophy.”

Wednesday’s game is a big stepping stone – the Netherlands are a formidable force. The 2017 champions boast a stellar lineup, many of who are familiar to Agyemang, with Victoria Pelova and Daphne van Domselaar at Arsenal with her and Daniëlle van de Donk, Jill Roord, Dominique Janssen and Vivianne Miedema all former Gunners.

“We know they have quality, but we do as well,” says Agyemang. “We believe in ourselves that we can go and get the job done. We know we have a big game ahead of us. We have what we need so we just need to go and execute the way we know we can and then we’ll get what we deserve.”

Agyemang is almost unnervingly confident for someone so young. On the pitch her persona is different. “She’s a really sweet girl,” says Lucy Bronze. “She’s so unassuming as a person, but then on the pitch she’s probably one of my favourite ones to play against because I can just run into her dead hard.

“She likes to give it back. She’s been told that she needs to go a little bit easier, but I said: ‘No, just keep it up Micha, I prefer it, I want you to give everything, it makes it harder for us.’”

Agyemang laughs when Bronze’s comments are relayed to her. “It’s an interesting one because we did have that conversation, me and Sarina [Wiegman, the head coach]. I’ve been working on that in training and I think I’ve improved, but Lucy was saying she thinks it’s a super-strength of mine.

“I know Lucy is physical as well so we like going at it in training. It’s fun to have that type of opponent and then you can reflect it in the game. I like it and she likes it as well.”

Agyemang has had to adapt quickly to her rising profile. Three years ago, she was a ballgirl at Wembley for England’s 4-0 win against Northern Ireland and now she is at her first major tournament. For some time, her talents have been talked about, in the England youth ranks and at Arsenal. Handling the hype and the pressure that comes with it is taken somewhat in her stride.

“When I was younger I didn’t really like the cameras and stuff like that but it’s a part of the game and the way the women’s game is growing – you will have to speak,” she says. “You can’t hide from the cameras. I’m working on it.

“Most of the pressure comes from myself. I don’t try to listen to the noise. I appreciate the support from everyone. Focusing on what I can do is most important and then the noise will come around no matter what happens. I just focus on how I can improve my game and how I can help the team.”

Where can she improve her game? “Getting that consistency. When I get on the pitch, being able to be as effective in minute one, even if that’s the last minute of the game, or if I’m starting.”

Has she planned a celebration for her first major tournament goal? “No,” she says. “I always used to find it quite embarrassing. When I did celebrate I’d always look back and think it was really cringe. So I refrain from celebrating. If it comes out, if it comes out.”

Header image: [Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Uefa/Getty Images]