Lucy Bronze lauds Chloe Kelly’s mentality and ‘special’ Michelle Agyemang after England’s win over Italy | OneFootball

England full-back Lucy Bronze hailed the impact of duo Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang after the Arsenal pair inspired a dramatic comeback against Italy to send the Lionesses into the final of the Euros.

Despite their heroics in the quarter-final against Sweden, neither player was named in the starting line-up to face Italy. However, Kelly was brought on in the 77th minute, followed by Agyemang’s introduction eight minutes later.

Agyemang was in the right place at the right time once again to level the score six minutes into stoppage time, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and confidently firing past Laura Giuliani.

However, it was Kelly who delivered the decisive moment late in extra-time, reacting quickest to convert the rebound after her spot-kick was saved, completing yet another stunning England comeback.

Bronze, who previously played alongside Kelly at Manchester City, praised her team-mate’s resilience, highlighting her return from a serious ACL injury in 2021, and her ability to once again leave her mark, like she did by scoring the winner in the final of Euro 2022.

“I think you see Chloe and you probably wouldn’t expect her to be that crazy in the gym, but she’s such a competitor. She’s so resilient,” Bronze said after the game.

“I think the fact that she fought back from that ACL to make the tournament was amazing.

“Obviously, working day in, day out with her in the gym, I think I know better than anybody in this team what she’s made of and what mentality she really has.

“I think that’s why I know when she’s coming on in an England shirt, that she can make a difference in any moment of the game and that she’ll give her all because I’ve seen it when nobody was there, when the fans weren’t there, the team wasn’t there, it was just me and her.

“I saw the blood, sweat and tears that she had.”

Kelly’s Arsenal teammate Agyemang has been one of the breakthrough stars of the tournament, twice coming to England’s rescue to avoid elimination.

But Bronze insisted she is not at all surprised by the 19-year-old’s impact, saying she was destined to be part of the senior setup.

“I’m not surprised,” Bronze said. “I remember the first time she came to training and I already knew this girl was destined to be part of this group. Obviously, she did it coming on against Belgium.

“That was the first glance for all the fans. I think from that moment, we knew that she was going to be special. Obviously, she needs time.

“She’s a 19-year-old. She’s doing fantastic coming off the bench and scoring goals and putting in performances and working hard.

“But the fact that she’s 19 and she’s got so many years to improve and keep getting better, it’s frightening to think of the forwards and the attackers that we’ve got with England.

“Obviously, so many of them are so young as well.”