Nigeria win to book spot in Wafcon quarter-finals
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Chloe Kelly ‘so proud to be English' after latest Lionesses heroics in Euro 2025 final
Lionesses hero Chloe Kelly declared she was 'proud to be English' after her latest heroics delivered Euro 2025 glory in Basel. Kelly converted the winning penalty in the shootout win over Spain, three years after scoring the winning goal in extra time in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley. The 27-year-old admitted she almost quit football in January after being frozen out by Manchester City but has enjoyed a redemptive spell on the pitch. Kelly scored a penalty to keep England alive in the quarter-final shootout over Sweden before converting a penalty rebound in the semi-final win over Italy. Kelly told the BBC: "I am so proud of this team. So grateful to wear this badge. So proud to be English. "I was cool, I was composed. I knew I was going to hit the back of the net. I don't miss penalties twice. "Unbelievable. All the staff behind us and Sarina Wiegman - she has done it again. Unbelievable. "It is going to be crazy. I hope the whole of England comes out to support us and shows their love to these girls as they deserve it." Kelly had been dropped by Wiegman in February following her exit from Manchester City but quickly regained her place. And she gave Wiegman credit for allowing her the opportunity to regain her spot in the squad following her loan move to Arsenal. 'She is bloody amazing. She is an incredible woman,' Kelly said. 'What she has done for this country, we should all be so grateful for. 'What she has done for me, individually, she gave me hope, when I probably didn't have any. She gave me an opportunity to represent my country again. 'I knew that I had to get game time, because representing England is never a given. But what she has done for the women's game, not just in England, she has taken it to a whole other level. 'The work doesn't go unnoticed from the staff that are behind her, they are incredible. people and I am so grateful to have worked with such amazing staff members.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
England needed the ultimate team performance to beat world champions
It is a sight we have never seen, a senior England football team hoisting a major trophy in overseas air, an unparalleled away-from-home achievement, history made in Basel. And then there was the blissful soundtrack that accompanied it. That sweet, glorious sound of We Are The Champions being sung abroad by England and their supporters, Sarina Wiegman conducting everyone with her waving arms, and every England player and staff member belting out Queen's words. Wiegman is this sport's undisputed queen of coaching, winning this silverware three times in a row, and now the first England manager to successfully defend a trophy. The Dutchwoman is the greatest signing the Football Association has made. What this win was defined by, though, was a 'team', and on Sunday they produced the ultimate team performance to beat the world's best. The phrase these Lionesses players have been repeating since February, to describe the way they want to play, is 'proper England'. You could be forgiven for wondering: 'What does that mean?' Maybe they all love Yorkshire puddings, chips with curry sauce. Or maybe they are all really patient when queueing. Maybe they had a character-building evening together waiting for a delayed train from Euston station. What they do mean by that phrase can be summed up by their unwavering, never-say-die attitude, their refusal to give in, their endeavour. It is their banter, too. It is Ella Toone joking on Friday about the chances of Michelle Agyemang getting 'papped while eating a pasty'. Football-wise, it is their ability to execute a gameplan to perfection. Even if the shootout had gone Spain's way, there would have been so many aspects to this England performance for the nation to be proud of. Jess Carter, brought back into the starting XI a week after revealing she had been racially abused, was immense, winning duel after duel, courageous like no other, demonstrating her strength of character as well as the strength of her defending. Alongside her, Leah Williamson produced her best display of the tournament. This was the Williamson we had seen in the Champions League final, blocking cross after cross, timing her tackles well and reading the game to perfection with her positioning. Without the ball, the whole team worked tirelessly. For a short while, there was an understandable worry it might be in vain. At half-time, England fans who watch men's and women's football may have feared they were about to endure a near‑identical summer to that of 2024; watching a team saved by late goals in the knockout rounds, who sometimes could not click into gear but were boosted by game-changing substitutes who propelled them to the final, who would ultimately be beaten by a Spain side that were simply better. Not this time. This is not the same team. These are the Lionesses. These are – as Williamson suggested in a team meeting in 2019 – 'badass women'. This is a group of born winners who refuse to lose. They find a way. They always find a way. Chloe Kelly always finds a way to produce the inch-perfect cross. Alessia Russo who – like Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Beth Mead and Kelly, is now a club and European champion in the same summer – found the classy headed finish her excellent season for club and country had merited. Up against the most gifted set of players in the world, England required such intense levels of concentration defensively, for 120 minutes, and for all but one first-half moment, they found it. Alex Greenwood stood up to Vicky López. Lauren Hemp fought, terrier-like, on the wing. Georgia Stanway's tackles came crunching in. Spain just kept coming. The ball came back and back but England fought. Hannah Hampton's strong hands kept Clàudia Pina at bay. Importantly, it was the roles Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse, Maya Le Tissier and Wubben-Moy – none of whom played a minute of football in this tournament – that epitomised the unity in this team. None of them complaining, none of them causing any rifts in the camp. Le Tissier popped up to give Grace Clinton an energy gel before she went on in extra time. This is a real team. That spirit shows through the friends and families of the players, too, sitting directly behind the dugout, with Lucy Bronze's brother Jorge standing to urge the England fans to make more noise in extra time. The feeling was there in Agyemang, battling to win a late throw-in. It was Kelly's nerveless spot-kick that struck the net. As the song said: 'We'll keep on fighting 'til the end.' Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion The lyrics we have not heard much, in this fabulously well-run tournament in Switzerland, are 'football's coming home' by Three Lions. It has not been played through the stadium speakers after victories here. Perhaps that is fitting; it is too melancholy a tune for this team of winners. This team are rewriting how we perceive English football success. This trophy is not coming home, it is staying home.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Jess Carter admits she was ‘scared' to play Euro 2025 final after racist abuse
England defender Jess Carter admitted she was 'scared' to play in the Euro 2025 final after suffering racist abuse during the tournament as she thanked her teammates for their support. Carter returned to Sarina Wiegman 's starting line-up for the final against Spain and was the only change the England manager decided to make before the Euro 2025 final in Basel. The 27-year-old Carter revealed after England's quarter-final win over Sweden that she had received racist abuse on social media throughout the tournament. She dropped to the bench for the semi-final against Italy, even though Wiegman said Carter was ready to play if needed, but she returned to start the final against Spain. And while Carter was excellent alongside Leah Williamson in defence, as the Lionesses won their second major trophy, Carter revealed she had been apprehensive to play in the final. Carter told ITV: "I was super scared to play today for the first time in my life, but when I woke up and I saw my team, and the support I had and the belief I had from my team-mates, my family and my manager. I knew I could just come out and give it my all. That's all you can do." Carter thanked the support she had received from the England fans and said it gave her the 'courage' to play after suffering racist abuse during the tournament. 'The support I felt from the fans was incredible,' Carter explained. 'I can't thank them enough because without the fans, my team-mates and my family, I don't know if I'd have every had the courage to back on the pitch and play again. 'I'm not normally someone who struggles with the hate they received because everyone is going to have their opinion. But this tournament has been tough and I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back on the pitch and do me. "Everyone of those fans, I'm not ever going to be able to show my thanks enough, but they have been incredible, and I hope they will continue to cheer on the Lionesses every single day." England manager Wiegman explained that starting Carter over Esme Morgan, who had also impressed during the semi-final win over Italy, was a tactical decision but said she had 'belief' in Carter to deliver the performance required. 'Well, first of all, it says something about the team that we can make tactical decision,' Wiegman said. 'I've said a couple of times now that I was really happy, before the tournament, with my squad, and that we had players in the same position that can bring different things, and that was true with Esme and Jess. 'Italy was a different game than Spain and we felt we needed Jess now in the starting line-up, exactly for the reasons that you said, the fight and the duels, she can play, and she showed of course that she is a great personality. 'She was ready to perform, also against Italy, but that was a tactical decision and now we've made a tactical decision. I had all the belief in her and she had the belief in herself, that's the most important thing, that she could contribute to the team and you can tell that the team trusted her too.'
