Michelle Agyemang, the saviour of the nation (again) | OneFootball

Allow me to set the scene. It is 22:50 CEST on Tuesday 22 July 2025, and England – the defending champions – are just seconds away from crashing out of UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.

Italy, in their first major semi-final appearance since 1997, had taken a first-half lead through Barbara Bonansea and defended valiantly against an English side that, truthfully, offered little going forwards and looked exploitable defensively. It had been a stale performance from the Lionesses, not aided in any way by Sarina Wiegman’s hesitance to call upon her substitutes.

Chloe Kelly, who bagged two assists to turn England’s quarter-final tie around last week, was introduced in the 77th minute. Michelle Agyemang – the scorer of the Lionesses’ second against Sweden – followed seven minutes later. The 19-year-old had just five minutes of regulation time to save her nation.

But for Agyemang, whose name loosely translates to ‘Saviour of the Nation’ in Ghanaian Akan, that was enough. Seven minutes of stoppage time were signalled by the fourth official, and as the clock ticked into the final few seconds, she found the breakthrough. Arsenal’s young forward had bagged her third senior international goal, rescuing the nation in back-to-back matches, all before her 20th birthday. Her club teammate, Kelly, completed the comeback with a penalty rebound in the 119th minute. There really is nothing like leaving it late, is there?

And so, England will face Germany or Spain at Basel’s St Jakob-Park on Sunday, with silverware on the line. They are both familiar opponents, with England having met them in the Euro 2022 final and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final respectfully, and they will both pose an incredibly tough challenge for Wiegman’s side.

Crucially though, neither the Frauenteam nor la Roja have Michelle Agyemang, and she is an advantage that cannot quite be quantified on paper. A 19-year-old should not have nerves of steel as she does, and a 19-year-old should not be capable of rescuing her nation twice in her first major tournament, just months after making her senior debut.

Yet here we are, with England heading through to another major tournament final, this time courtesy of Michelle Agyemang. She has saved the nation and now it is time for the country get behind her – and if the youngster were to complete her hat-trick of late rescues in Basel on Sunday, who’d say no to a statue?