Meet the Lionesses' unlikely hero: Michelle Agyemang, 19, is the former ball girl who wasn't meant to be at the Euros - now she has saved England TWICE on way to final and one key trait means she can 'almost destroy' rivals

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

As if we hadn't seen this script before, somehow it's playing out again.
England are marching into their third consecutive major tournament final, and once again, they have Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly to thank.
'She feels inevitable right now,' said England captain Leah Williamson of the teenage sensation.
The most remarkable part? Agyemang wasn't even supposed to be here.
Originally from South Ockendon in Essex, Agyemang was sent out on loan by Arsenal this season to 'continue her development' at Brighton, where she made just three starts for the Seagulls towards the end of their campaign.
Then came the sliding doors moment – perhaps of the entire Euros campaign – just two months before Sarina Wiegman was due to name her squad for Switzerland when Alessia Russo picked up a knock midway through England's Nations League double-header with Belgium, and Agyemang was hurriedly called in to replace her.
England were on the brink of a frustrating result in Leuven, the score stuck at 3-1, when Agyemang was introduced in the 80th minute.
Just forty-one seconds later, Leah Williamson's looping cross from deep found her. One touch to control with her thigh, the second to blast it into the roof of the net.
After a brief celebration, Agyemang retrieved the ball from the net and raced it back to the penalty spot.
The goal didn't spark a full comeback – the final score remained 3-2 – but it was quite the debut statement.
Agyemang, a lifelong Arsenal fan, joined the Gunners' academy aged six. Born to Ghanaian parents, she has long been tipped for the limelight – although perhaps not quite this quickly.
Asked that night in Belgium whether she viewed Agyemang as a back-up to Russo, Wiegman was quick to temper expectations, replying: 'That's really fast. I can't say that to you right now. She's an absolute talent and I think she's a very good number nine.
'It's too early to say now where that goes to and when the players come back and are fit then the competition up front is really high. But if it's not in the short term, then in the longer term she's an exciting player.'
Scrap all that – Agyemang is a player for right now. Twice she has come to England's rescue in this Euros campaign, and twice she has delivered on Europe's biggest stage when the clock was beginning to say it was all over.
'She's unbelievable,' said Chloe Kelly – her future Arsenal teammate and fellow super sub – after the match. 'She's got the world at her feet. A young player with a bright future and I'm absolutely buzzing for her.'
Only four years ago, Agyemang was a ball girl at Wembley for Wiegman's third game in charge – a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in 2021 – and was left awestruck by being so close to the action.
'It was crazy, seeing the girls so close to my face,' she recently recalled. 'Beth Mead got a hat-trick that day, so to be a part of that experience was invaluable and I'll never forget it.'
Now, those same players are singing the 19-year-old's praises after her late rescue act secured another historic final for this relentless team.
'She's very humble and knows her strength, and that gives her confidence,' Lucy Bronze said last night. 'She knows she's a strong girl and she knows she can finish.
'She can put the ball in the back of the net. She does it in training and she works tirelessly every single day in training against our centre-halves – pushing them and making sure that she's fresh for when she comes on as a sub.
'But what a future the kid's got ahead of her – at 19 she's helping the England team get to a Euros final. I can't imagine her or her family ever dreamed of it.'
Agyemang's rise has been rapid, and Wiegman has embraced her raw talent – while also suggesting she ease up slightly in training.
Sarina Wiegman admits she should 'calm down' in training because she can 'almost destroy' her opponents
'In duels I think she needs to calm down a little bit as she makes some fouls,' Wiegman said in May. 'You don't want to almost destroy your opponent.'
Bronze's reaction was to tell Agyemang to go harder.
'We did have that conversation, me and Sarina, and I've been working on it in training, and I think I've improved on it,' Agyemang recently said.
'But Lucy was saying she thinks it's a super strength of mine and I know Lucy is physical as well, so we like going at it in training and it's fun to have that type of opponent – then you can reflect it in the game.'
Her physicality has become her defining trait in this tournament, ruffling feathers in each of the three matches she's come off the bench.
Four caps, three goals – it's been quite the return.