EXCLUSIVE The truth about Tom Brady at Birmingham: The speech he gave to beat Wrexham, a brand new training regime and wedding-day calls
For Birmingham City players, however, sometimes the club official in question is Tom Brady, seven-time winner and one of the most recognisable sports stars on the planet.
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Daily Mirror
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Ian Wright demands one England change for Euro 2025 final after huge Italy scare
England are in yet another final after a dramatic 2-1 win over Italy, with both their goals scored at the end of regular and extra time, but the Lionesses started the game poorly and Ian Wright believes they are riding their luck Ian Wright has told England they must start the Euro 2025 final much quicker after leaving it late once again to secure a dramatic 2-1 win over Italy in Wednesday night's semi-final. The Lionesses have reached their third straight final under Sarina Wiegman but they made hard work of it as a sluggish start saw Italy take a first-half lead through Barbara Bonansea. England looked like they were heading out of the tournament before Michelle Agyemang popped up with a stoppage time strike to take the game to extra time, before Chloe Kelly scored a penalty rebound minutes before the game was set to go to a shootout. It came after England came from 2-0 down to beat Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals and Wright is concerned that their luck will soon run out in they don't assert themselves quicker against either Spain or Germany in the final. "You can't continue to rely on that," Wright told ITV. "Six semi-finals, three finals on the spin. At some stage, the luck will run out. We need to start better and get a foothold in the game. "The thing is, if it's Germany, very physical and direct, it won't suit us. Spain, they play a more technical game, it might suit us more. I'm not sure about Plan A and Plan B, we're in a final. "But we need to start games better. We take too long to start games, we need to get into that, how we can get into our stride quicker." Fellow ITV pundit Karen Carney agreed with Wright and claimed the team looked tired, calling on Wiegman to make changes to give the Lionesses some "freshness". "Sarina doesn't make many changes, but we saw tiredness today," the former England star said. "Freshness is important. "She has to look at her squad, rip it up, we need freshness to start the game. Plan A isn't working, Plan B is magnificent, we have to make changes." One change that Wiegman did make was to once again bring on Agyemang to make an impact from the bench and the teenager has now scored two vital goals at this tournament - leading to questions over whether she should now start the final. When asked if she had "forced" that decision, the Dutch coach replied: "She is not forcing me. She is very grateful to get minutes and she is very ready for it. "Her growth and development went so quickly. From not starting at Brighton to getting lots more minutes and showing how good she is, to coming into our team. It went smooth for her and she feels very good about that."
Leader Live
12 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Five key takeaways as England reach Euros final with last-minute win
England delivered another heart-stopping win in extra-time to make the Euro 2025 final with a 2-1 victory over Italy. It required an added time equaliser and last-minute winner but somehow the Lionesses got over the line once more in Geneva. Here are five key takeaways from a night that provoked nearly every emotion in the book. England into a third consecutive major tournament final No doubt performances will be raked over and tactics dissected as England turned in another questionable display in Geneva that saw them require late intervention once more, but their achievement is undeniably brilliant. The Lionesses will now appear in a third consecutive major tournament final - a feat of consistency that is nothing short of remarkable. The feat also marks a fifth consecutive major final for Sarina Wiegman, having reached two with the Netherlands before joining England. Whatever it is that has got them here - resilience, belief or just a 'proper English attitude' - it surely cannot just be luck after completing the feat so many times. They will either meet Spain or Germany to set up a definite repeat of one of their prior two finals - losing to Spain 1-0 in the World Cup final in 2023 and defeating Germany 2-1 at Euro 2022. Poor start proves costly…again When the post-mortem started on England's questionable first 70 minutes against Sweden in the quarter-finals, the overwhelming call was simple: start better. It was a call it felt obvious for the Lionesses to heed as they entered the semi-finals as clear favourites against an Italy side who had last reached a European Championship semi-final in 1997. Though in control for large periods of the opening half, England seemed to coast rather than take the impetus to press for a goal. It fell straight into the hands of an Italy side who clearly planned to sit back and soak up England pressure before raiding on the break. And that was exactly what happened as Sofia Cantore charged down the right to fire in a cross that was not dealt with by the Lionesses and Barbara Bonansea was on hand to fire home at the far post. Once more, it left England with a deficit to fight back from and they left it right until the last minute to save themselves. If they start like this again in the final, the outcome could prove much worse. WE'RE IN THE #WEURO2025 FINAL! 🙌 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 22, 2025 Italy's back five brilliance If Andrea Soncin could have produced a blueprint of how he wanted the semi-final to play out, it probably would not have looked too dissimilar to the 90 minutes that emerged in Geneva. It was only the added and extra-time after that proved the manager's undoing. Setting up in a back five, the Italians sought to absorb England's early pressure and did so to full effect, soaking up all their threat and with it seemingly any attacking impetus from the Lionesses. Soncin had clearly set up to hit England on the break and they did so devastatingly in the 33rd minute as Cantore burst down the right with pace and caught their opponents' defence off guard. Bonansea was on hand to deliver what appeared to be a fatal blow and from there they could set up to frustrate. Bodies behind the ball, time-wasting unlocked with Laura Giuliani booked for the offence, and it never looked likely that the Lionesses would penetrate the blockade until the entrance of Michelle Agyemang. Agyemang again Michelle Agyemang just continues to deliver. At 19 years old she has delivered in a major tournament twice in just a handful of appearances. On Tuesday evening, she was once more in the right place at the right time and showed maturity beyond her years to finish with aplomb. In a performance where England were all too often too hasty with their final ball, rushed passes and shots. With a performance that was veering towards head loss, Agyemang brought a calm in the box. Despite being the youngest player on the pitch, when Beth Mead cut the ball back into her path, she waited a second before placing her shot past Giuliani. Good morning everyone - from our #WEURO25 finalists 🤗 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 23, 2025 It was with just four minutes of extra time remaining that Agyemang came millimetres away from turning from hero to legend. Breaking free of the Italy defence she showed her strength to fire a deliberately clipped shot towards the goal that dipped to hit the crossbar and rebound off. Agyemang is not a star in the making but a star already shining the brightest in the Lionesses' constellation. Chloe Kelly is clutch It was not an all-time performance from Chloe Kelly and yet she still picked up the official Player of the Match award. The scenario was exactly what you would expect of a player of Kelly's mentality. Shunned at Manchester City this season, leaving her in a place where she considered quitting football, Kelly forced a move to Arsenal to rejuvenate her England hopes. Despite the doubters, in north London she thrived. She would not only force her way into a strong starting XI but start as Arsenal won the Champions League after defeating Barcelona. Having been named on the bench for all of England's games at Euro 2025 so far, she came on once more to prove her worth. Against Sweden, that had shown in the form of two brilliant assists/pre-assists to set-up England's comeback. On Wednesday that contribution shifted because while her crossing was not up to scratch, noticeably putting a corner straight into the side-netting with minutes left, she stepped up to take a potentially game-winning penalty. Despite seeing her first attempt saved, she was on hand to show that resilience again, and power home the rebound. It marks a second time the winger has given England an historic 2-1 win in extra-time, having been the scorer of the winner at Wembley back in 2022.
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
England are living a ‘fantasy' at Euro 2025 – now they must get real
As the giddy talk in Geneva inevitably turned to endings, and comparisons with movies, match-winner Chloe Kelly described it as a 'fantasy'. That might well refer to the improbability of England somehow winning despite performing so badly, even though that's obviously not what the forward meant. Sarina Wiegman and her squad naturally don't want to get into such critical discussion right now, and for good reason. There's another historic final appearance to celebrate right now. There's also going to be a lot of analysis to come before Sunday, and a lot of preparation. They're needed. England are right now so much less than the sum of their parts, but have crucial greater qualities. There is a rare resolve there. 'The team never gives up,' Wiegman said. Her hero, Kelly, went further. An old phrase was reworked, which might be even more relevant if it is Germany rather than Spain in Sunday's final. 'You can never write the English off.' That somehow could be said even later against Italy, as the European champions this time left it to the final 90 seconds of stoppage time. Italy manager Andrea Soncin lamented how his team were one minute from the final. They even celebrated Kelly's mis-hit corner just before Michelle Agyemang's equaliser. This isn't an accident, or coincidence. There is an obvious spirit in this group, that is as visible in moments like the entire squad rallying around Jess Carter as it is in late equalisers. One also leads to the other, and there's a multiplying effect. The more crucial late goals you score, the more you think there's always another there. It might even be time to rework another old phrase, that was famously used about Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. This England don't lose games. They just run out of time. Except, time can catch up with them another way, and it's where there's always another side to late goals. That doesn't refer to the anguish teams like Italy suffer, either. Do it a few times, and they're a sign of resolve. Do it a lot, and they're a sign of weakness. If you keep needing such moments, something is wrong in your team. That does lead to another interpretation of what happened in Geneva on Wednesday, that won't necessarily be popular amid the euphoria of victory. This one possibly wasn't a show of resolve. It was really just a team that had vastly superior individuals to Italy, with that higher quality eventually manifesting. It didn't really matter when. It just would. The gap was too good, reflecting how fortunate they were to face such a limited side in the semi-final. In fact, there's even an argument that the lateness of the game contributed to that, making the ending inevitable in another way. Italy had vastly overperformed to get this far, and just didn't have the experience or nous to see this out. They made some baffling decisions in the latter stages, although that was also because they didn't really have the legs to see it out either. They were naturally exhausted. The injury to star forward Cristiana Girelli only made it worse. All of that could be sensed in some extra-time counter-attacks. Italy would suddenly have an opening to put a runner through, but it was like they didn't want to commit. They were afraid of leaving themselves open, and possibly knew they wouldn't have the legs to get back either. That's what extra-time in such absorbing knockouts does. England have much more experience of such games, even if they were reliant on Agyemang's freshness. Except, in the final, they are not going to be playing a team as limited as Italy. It's a different test, where it instantly becomes much more dangerous to depend on another rescue act. That's where the flaws that warrant so many late goals can eventually catch up with you. It really depends on what wins out, your weaknesses or your spirit – unless you solve the problems in the first place. Wiegman laughed as she said it 'wasn't the plan' to keep going behind in such games, but she needs to get serious about one. While such spirit is immensely valuable in a tournament, tournaments also have a tendency to eventually see you hit your own limits; the point at which you can't go past. Wiegman badly needs to change the limitations of this team, especially given the talents of her players. It is such a bizarre thing. We are talking about one of the great coaches of the women's game, her outstanding quality illustrated by her very record of reaching a fifth consecutive final. And yet in these Euros it is like she just hasn't been able to solve England's core flaws, which is their very starting line-up. The 75th-minute subs have worked so far, and the swell around their introduction can cause further doubts for opposition. That's another side of those late goals. At the same time, superior opposition sides can get wise to that. Kelly is still correct. England have lived a fantasy so far. They just need to get realistic about what next. Maybe the best ending for this is not, actually, another late show.
