The weakness Spain exploited during tense Euro 2025 semi-final
This win marks Spain's first-ever progression to a European Championship final and their first defeat of Germany in a major tournament.
Bonmati revealed that Spain's team had strategically studied German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger 's tendency to leave her near post exposed.
This tactical awareness allowed Bonmati to exploit the narrow gap and score from a tight angle.
Spain will now face European champions England in the Euro 2025 final, a rematch of the World Cup final.
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The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
Bitter Spanish press slam Chloe Kelly's ‘cocky' celebration as stars moan they were much BETTER than ‘lucky' England
THE Spanish media have blasted England Women and labelled them as "cocky" and "time wasters" in a bitter attack on the Euro 2025 winners. The Lionesses were crowned European champions for the second time in a row on Sunday, defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties after it ended 1-1 after extra time. 4 4 4 4 But despite Sarina Wiegman 's side impressive performance that saw them battle from being 1-0 down in the first half to fighting back through an Alessia Russo equaliser and much-improved penalties, Spain's media think England"robbed" La Roja in Basel. Spanish outlet Diario AS fired a shot at final and winning penalty taker Chloe Kelly and her "cocky" gesture after her spot kick, which saw her coolly point a finger at the crowd. The Spanish outlet wrote: "This is unnecessary, my friend: Kelly's cocky gesture to [goalkeeper] Cata Coll after scoring the decisive penalty. "The England specialist changed her run during her penalty celebration to get past the goalkeeper she had just beaten." In their match report, the outlet said: "The dream ends in a nightmare. "Spain lost the European Championship on penalties. England tied a match that Spain largely dominated. "History is made by victories, and also by defeats. Spain fell in the Euro Cup final but left its name sealed in gold. Sydney. "They couldn't have been crueler in the penalty shootout, tossing a few dice in the air." Inside Lionesses' boozy Euro 2025 celebrations as stars party with pizzas, beers and loved ones after win over Spain 2023 World Cup winners Spain's players labelled England as "lucky" in their post-match interviews. Captain Irene Paredes told Spanish TV RTV E: "I don't really know what to say. It's a very hard moment. "We tried everything, all the different ways, and then the penalties didn't go our way. I thought we deserved it more but in the end it is not about who deserves it. "It is about having that bit of luck and England had that throughout the whole tournament. We thought we could overcome that but we weren't able to. "I think we had more control of the game than they did, we created more clear chances, we had more possession… But yeah, nothing else." Meanwhile, two-time reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati thought her side were "far superior". Bonmati, who missed her penalty in the shoot out, told Spainsh outlet El Pais: "I think we've all given up; it's been a long time here, and it's been very cruel. "In terms of play, we were far superior to our opponents, but in football, that's not enough." She added: "To be a winning team in a tournament like this, you have to have some luck, and they had plenty of luck. "We know how to do it better when it comes to penalties." England were leading in just four minutes of all of their knockout games but defied all odds to go back-to-back. Mariona Caldentey's first half header was cancelled out by Alessia Russo in the 57th minute, with the score locked all the way to the end of extra time. England's Hannah Hampton - who has done a remarkable job of stepping into ex-Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earp's shoes following her retirement - saved two of Spain's penalties, including Bonmati's. Euro 2022 winning goalscorer Kelly hammered her spot kick into the top left hand corner to avenge her side's World Cup 2023 defeat to Spain and seal victory for her country.
BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
'Kelly is more than the next Beckham' - the Lioness shifting the culture
With a hop, skip and a thwack, Chloe Kelly scored the winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final - and shifted the culture of English that this is anything new for Kelly, who over the past three years has been at the centre of the Lionesses' explosion into the public the Euro 2022 final, she scored the winning goal before celebrating by twirling her shirt aloft with sports bra on display. Kelly was praised for empowering women, and embodying how the Lionesses are inspirations for current and future generations of 2025 final was different. While Kelly was praised for spending time with the mascot at the medal ceremony, chatting with and hugging the young girl, she then turned to the camera after getting her award and mouthed a sweary media outlet AS meanwhile was annoyed with Kelly for supposedly mocking keeper Cata Coll after scoring the winning spot-kick. "This is unnecessary, my friend," ran the headline., externalThat is the Lionesses of 2025, spearheaded by Kelly - inspirational yes, but also arrogant in the way of all champions, icons not only for their gender, but also for their immense sporting is well-known among team-mates for being the personification of the modern Lionesses."She seems to thrive on those moments when the team needs her to pull a performance out of the bag," said England defender Esme that could mark a tonal shift in how the Lionesses are perceived culturally, according Nicola Kemp, editorial director of marketing company Creativebrief."This is a real watershed moment for football marketing," Kemp told BBC Sport. "Kelly has passion and audacity on the pitch, that can be matched with commercial cut through - I expect more investment."Brands want to play in culture, and Kelly is at the centre of this incredible cultural shift in women's football." Shinpads and power penalties: Kelly is a branding dream Kelly is a marketer's dream in so many ways. On the pitch, she provided game deciding contributions in all of England's Euro 2025 knock-out matches - her crosses led to both goals against Sweden, she bagged the winner versus Italy, and she assisted Russo's equaliser in the final. And that's before you get to the winning the pitch, she is popular with fans - topping the BBC Sport audience ratings against Sweden and Spain - while she went viral during the quarter-final after TV cameras showed her taping up her featured her kissing her husband Scott Moore on their wedding day. The other had an image of their pet dogs."Otis and Rolo at the wedding in their little tuxes are on one shinpad and me and Scotty at the wedding are on the other which is really nice - bringing my life off the pitch with me on the pitch," Kelly said before the final."They are my dogs but they are people to me, they are my little boys with me along the journey, and of course Scott who is with me in the ups and downs."It was their wedding anniversary during the Euros. She said roses were provided in her room at the England camp, while they were able to spend a few hours by the Swiss lakes according to Kemp, is just as important to brands as the penalty Kelly smashed home at 68mph in Basel."It is wonderful to see her on the front of every newspaper, but it is almost bigger than that," she said."It is tempting to say Chloe Kelly is the next David Beckham, but this is more than that - this is an entire new playbook, a new movement." 'We create an impossible stereotype for female footballers' Kelly is a proud, cocky footballer unafraid to celebrate her tournament-winning penalty with a self-assured shrug to the fans."She has been doing it week in, week out and she's just got this attitude and this confidence that I don't think you can buy," England team mate Lucy Bronze said before the celebrates her London roots, her close family in which she is the youngest of seven siblings, and her love of to Romesh Ranganathan on Radio 2,, external Kelly said: "I just love listening to music. My mum always had the radio on, then being from west London, I support people from my area like AJ Tracey, I enjoy listening to his music. He's a friend of mine. It's really nice to see west London doing great in the music industry now."Kelly is also unafraid to speak her mind. In February, Sarina Wiegman left Kelly out of her squad for Nations League games against Portugal and Spain. At the time, she had not played any football since mid-December, having fallen out of favour at former club Manchester secured a loan to childhood team Arsenal, having posted emotional messages to social media saying she "wanted to be happy again" while accusing City of planting negative stories about her in the media. The club never commented publicly about Kelly's has not been shy about revealing she nearly quit football altogether."I'm really proud looking back on the journey," she said. "It was a tough one to start with. Thinking about giving up the game that we all love is really difficult but sometimes you need to look after your mental health and that was really important to me."After Euro 2022, the Lionesses were held up as the perfect ideal of female sporting achievement. Kemp says the next step, led by Kelly, will be allowing our women's football icons to be imperfect."We create a stereotype that is impossible for women footballers to live up to, that can be quite oppressive from a marketing perspective," she said."They can be both things, be an incredible athlete and incredible personality. Kelly is full of flair, you would not want her in just one area."With a hop, skip and a thwack, the age of the Chloe Kelly is upon us.
Daily Mirror
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Euro 2025 Final TV viewing figures as clear winner emerges in BBC vs ITV battle
The European Champioship final between England and Spain was broadcast by both the BBC and ITV on Sunday and there was a clear winner in terms of the viewing figures The BBC were celebrating alongside the Lionesses on Sunday as they won the viewing figures battle with ITV. A peak live audience of 12.2 million watched England make history in the Euro 2025 Final, beating Spain on penalties to secure back-to-back European Championship titles. At peak viewership, the final was the most watched television moment of 2025 across all TV channels. The BBC say that their broadcast peaked at 11.6 million on BBC One - 59 per cent of all TV audiences - with a further 4.2 million streams of the match on iPlayer, their website and app. The number dwarfs that of ITV, who brought in a peak of just 4 million viewers, according to Broadcast Sport. Mirror Football have contacted ITV's press office for further details. During last year's men's European Championship final, also between England and Spain, the Beeb also came out on top. This time around, the result on the pitch was different but it was still the BBC's day. Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, commented: "This final was a landmark moment in sporting history. The kind of moment people will remember exactly where they were when they watched it. "The incredible Lionesses took us on an emotional rollercoaster, and millions were hooked on BBC coverage from start to finish - from live streaming post-match analysis to millions following our live page and younger audiences in huge numbers on social media." Which channel did you watch the final on? Let us know in the comments section. Both the BBC and ITV have already secured the rights to broadcast the Women's World Cup in 2027 which will be hosted by Brazil. England were narrowly beaten by Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, the only final which they've lost under Sarina Wiegman. The Lionesses boss hopes that this summer's tournament will have a lasting impact after record TV audiences and attendances in Switzerland. "How I have experienced this tournament is that the level went up again, the intensity of the games went through the roof," Wiegman said after the final. "I hope it will boost the women's game even more, not only in England but beyond." The Dutch coach added: "The staff put so much effort in. They want to support the team, they prepare everything and the players are just lovely to work with. I'm sure tears could come later on. It will sink in, 'What is happening here?!' We just try to win every game and it's really nice when it works." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Lionesses Bring It Home Again - Souvenir Edition
