England’s coach, Sarina Wiegman, expressed feeling “a range of emotions” following her team’s latest thrilling comeback victory over Italy in extra time on Tuesday, which secured their place in the Women’s Euro 2025 final.
“I’m experiencing a range of emotions once more. I feel relief, I feel happy — it feels somewhat unreal, but we’re here and heading to the final,” Wiegman said after the 2-1 victory in Geneva, which was achieved thanks to a Chloe Kelly goal in the 119th minute.
Italy were moments away from a surprising win against the defending champions and a spot in the final, as they maintained the lead deep into stoppage time due to Barbara Bonansea’s goal in the 33rd minute.
However, Michelle Agyemang equalized for England in the sixth minute of stoppage time, sending the game into extra time. Then, Kelly—who had also come off the bench—scored the winning goal after her penalty was saved, just as another shootout was about to begin.
“It really feels like a film. When it ends that way, I’m enjoying it, but it was somewhat intense,” said Wiegman.
Her group had already achieved an impressive reversal against Sweden in the quarterfinals, coming from behind at 2-0, with Lucy Bronze and Agyemang scoring two goals within three minutes near the end, forcing overtime, and ultimately moving forward via penalties.
“We are aware that the players in our squad have the capability to score even more, as we have demonstrated on several occasions,” Wiegman added.
At the end, we managed it and then we received additional time, followed by the penalty. We were somewhat fortunate to score in the second phase, but we’ve advanced.
– Three consecutive –
England, which had winger Lauren James substituted at halftime due to an ankle injury, will now travel to Basel for the final on Sunday against either Spain or Germany — they will face each other in their semifinal match on Wednesday.
The Lionesses will face another major tournament final for the third time in a row. They defeated Germany in extra time during the Euro 2022 final at Wembley, only to lose to Spain in the championship match of the subsequent World Cup held in Sydney.
“That’s the result when a top team unites and achieves success — three straight finals with an incredible manager in Sarina,” said Kelly, the Arsenal forward who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Euro final.
It’s amazing to be a part of this unique group. I’m very proud.
She stated, “I can’t wrap my head around what just occurred. The faith in the team, the strength, and the unity within this group is truly remarkable.”
In the meantime, Italy’s coach Andrea Soncin expressed pride in his team, even though it was painful to watch the Azzurre come close to advancing to their first final since the 1997 Euros.
“It’s painful, but we are extremely proud of everything we’ve accomplished,” said Soncin, who assumed leadership of the team in 2023 and is now looking ahead to the 2027 World Cup.
The reality that we were only a minute away from the final could be motivating for us.
We need a few days to recover from this difficult moment, but we will continue to grow. Our future objective is to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, so we are already excited about it.
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