England produced yet more late drama at Euro 2025 as they kept their hopes of back-to-back European Championship successes alive with a spectacular 2-1 semi-final victory over Italy after extra-time. The Lionesses looked to be heading for the exit door after Barbara Bonanseas 33rd-minute goal, as Sarina Wiegmans side struggled to break down Italys stubborn defence.
However, Wiegmans super subs struck again! Michelle Agyemang, just as she did against Sweden in the quarter-finals, struck in the sixth of seven minutes of added time to rescue England and send the game into extra-time.
Teams | Stats | As it happenedWomens Euros 2025: Fixtures, results & knock-out treeSky to show 118 WSL games per season in historic dealThen, with penalties looming, Chloe Kelly had the chance to send England to a third straight major tournament final from the penalty spot after Beth Mead was bundled over by Emma Severini in the penalty area.
In pure Lionesses fashion, even this wasnt straightforward as goalkeeper Laura Giuliani saved Kellys initial penalty, but the Arsenal forward stayed cool to emphatically bury the rebound as England booked their place in Sundays final where they will face either Spain or Germany.
How England fought back again to reach final… England, who made one change from the quarter-finals with Esme Morgan replacing Jess Carter in defence, made a positive start with Lauren Hemp key in the early stages.
Her early cross found Lauren James, but the Chelsea forwards shot was straight at goalkeeper Laura Giuliani. Alessia Russo then had a chance to fire England in front, bringing down a ball that Italy had let bounce in their 18-yard box, but flashed wide.
It was an opportunity England would rue when Bonansea netted the opener, capitalising on Englands lack of cutting edge and defensive frailty. England had a number of chances to clear but Arianna Carusos shot found its way to Bonansea, who had time to pick her spot and power home a rising effort past a helpless Hannah Hampton.
It left England with plenty of work to do and not for the first time in this tournament. Wiegman was forced into a change at the break with James re-emerging from the interval sporting an ice pack around her ankle.
She was replaced by Beth Mead but there was no initial change in fortune for England. Hampton was called into action to deny Cantore and though a frustrated England applied more pressure in the second half, they still lacked the clinical edge they needed to find an equaliser.
Kelly arrived on the scene in the 77th minute before Bronze had a header cleared off the line, and, with five minutes remaining, Wiegman turned to her young guns, replacing Leah Williamson and Russo with Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones.
It paid off deep into stoppage time when – just as it looked like England had run out of ideas – Agyemang popped up to draw the sides level. The momentum was with England now and Agyemang hit the bar with a deft lob from a cute angle in the second period of added time.
Another shoot-out was beginning to loom but England had the chance to close out the contest with a penalty when Mead was tugged down by Severini. Up stepped Kelly, who memorably scored the extra-time winner in the Euros final at Wembley three summers ago.
Giuliani made the initial stop but the Arsenal forward was not to be denied, burying the rebound to book Englands trip to Sundays final in Basel and the chance to retain the trophy they won in 2022. Wiegman relief after more late dramaEngland head coach Sarina Wiegman on ITV Sport: We always had the opportunity to bring fresh players in that bring a lot of quality too.
We end up with more players up front, which was necessary because it was a war, we had to get a hold on the ball. They did just really good. This team just keeps going. We never give up. Speaking of match-winner Kelly, Wiegman said: She thrives on these moments.
Shes excited about it. She loves those moments and you can tell. Asked for her overriding emotion, Wiegman added: I think relief. When you score so late in normal time and then late in the second half of extra-time we get a penalty which we score on the rebound, and coming (from) behind against Italy, there you know you have a problem.
We had some serious challenges in this game. In the first half we didnt play well. We didnt have the energy in the game. We did have the ball more and we were playing a little more in their half but we didnt create.
The second half we did better but they defended really well too, so when we were in the final third there wasnt much space. They had a lot of blocks in front of the goal and were really aggressive and winning lots of duels, so Im happy of course – even more happy now were going into the final.
Kelly: Lionesses want more successEngland match winner Chloe Kelly to ITV: Unbelievable, such a great feeling. This team deserved nothing but that. Three finals on the bounce and we want more, this is an unbelievable feeling.
It werent supposed to go like that, that penalty, but I was ready for the rebound and ready for any opportunity given to me wearing an England badge. I was confident but obviously the keeper had done her homework.
Luckily I got there for the tap-in. On fellow substitute Agyemang, Kelly added: Big Mich at it again. Shes unbelievable and she should have scored again: that one that hit the crossbar. Shes an unbelievable player and shes got the world at her feet, a young player with a bright future and Im absolutely buzzing for her.
But this team shows resilience again and we fight back. Hopefully we can make it a little bit easier for ourselves – we dont need that panic. Wiegmans substitutions worked againFormer England international Sue Smith on Sky Sports News: It all bodes well for Sundays final.
They have needed a bit of luck along the way, but they have also needed so much resilience and belief that Wiegman has instilled into them. Wiegmans substitutions have worked again. I was thinking she maybe should have made them earlier against Italy, but she knows when to do it.
She always seems to pick the right time to make the changes. She gives these players roles, and they know exactly what is expected of them, whether they are in the starting XI, whether they are finishers or just squad players.
They know what is expected of them. We all thought Kelly should start against Italy, but she didnt, and she came on and made a massive impact again. She was desperate to be picked for this tournament and shes had a huge impact for England.
You do feel for Italy. They were distraught at the end of the game. They thought they had the game plan spot on, but England kept going and they got their reward in the end. At the start of the tournament, we were all worried.
Mary Earps, Millie Bright and Fran Kirby missing – they are big players, big characters and leaders for England. They had the know-how and experience of going to and winning big tournaments for England.
Did they have enough character in the squad? But after the France defeat and the way they played against Netherlands and Wales, and then the Sweden game, they showed the character they have in this squad.
We are now seeing the emergence of new young talent coming through for the Lionesses. Whens the Euro 2025 final?England are into yet another major final. They will take on either Spain or Germany, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday, in Sundays final in Basel; kick-off 5pm.
