It was the 119th minute of a remarkable evening in Geneva when Kelly stepped up to take a decisive spot-kick. She missed. But she also had the presence of mind to follow up her initial effort, enabling her to fire home the rebound after Italian goalkeeper Laura Guiliani had only been able to parry the ball into her path.
Perhaps it is just meant to be. It felt that way in the group stage, when England overcame defeat to France to qualify. It certainly felt that way in the quarter-finals, when the Lionesses clawed back a two-goal deficit and won the most remarkable of penalty shoot-outs to keep their hopes alive.
If anything, last night’s success was even more dramatic. England were down and out when the clock ticked into the sixth minute of stoppage time in normal time, trailing to Barbara Bonansea’s first-half strike, but the first of their super-subs, Michelle Agyemang fired home a superb equaliser. Still only 19, the Arsenal forward has not even started a senior international. After also scoring against Sweden, though, she already boasts two major tournament goals.
England were the better side in extra-time, but penalties were looming large for the second game in a row when Emma Severini wrestled Beth Mead to the floor in the box. Kelly stepped up, and scored at the second attempt. Somehow, this Lionesses side manage to find a way.
England had thrashed Italy 5-1 in their most recent meeting, a friendly played in Spain in February 2024, but the high stakes of a Euros semi-final meant a repeat was never likely to be on the cards.
The Lionesses enjoyed the lion’s share of possession all night, but found themselves facing an Italian side whose well-drilled defence had been the bedrock of their surprise progression to the last four.
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From the outset, England’s key players were shackled, their flying wingers, Lauren Hemp and Lauren James, unable to get into the game. The pair combined in the tenth minute, with James flicking a first-time strike straight at Italian goalkeeper Laura Guiliani after Hemp crossed from the left, but that proved a rare moment of creative cohesion.
Alessia Russo found herself with the best chance of the opening half-hour, perhaps of the opening 90 minutes, but while Alex Greenwood’s chipped cross found its way into her path via a couple of deflections, the England striker swept a shot narrowly wide of the post.
Russo, who could have played for Italy given that her grandfather emigrated from Sicily in the 1950s, was left frustrated, but it was the whole of the Lionesses side that were downcast in the 33rd minute.
Italy had been gradually growing into the game when a slick one-two opened up the left-hand side of the England defence. The Lionesses passed up at least two decent opportunities to clear the ball, but Bronze could eventually only deflect it into the path of Bonansea, who controlled neatly before rifling into the roof of the net. Having trailed for almost all of the first half of their quarter-final against Sweden, England were behind again.
Could they respond? Not until stoppage time. James steered a side-footed shot too close to Guiliani when she should really have put her foot through the ball, but with Italy’s wing-back formation meaning they could easily drop back into a back five, space in the final third remained at a premium for Sarina Wiegman’s side.
A lethargic-looking James failed to reappear for the second half, instead hobbling to the bench with her foot wrapped in an ice pack, with Mead appearing in her place. Top scorer at the last Euros, when England were victorious, England needed Mead to spark a revival.
They also needed to start hitting the target, with their lack of a cutting edge being highlighted when an unmarked Hemp looped a header onto the roof of the net.
Italy slipped into game-management mode for most of the second half, although the longer the game went on, the more England became camped in the Italian half. The problem was that Italy’s defenders were happy to drop deep, forcing their opponents to thread their way through a congested final third.
It was a task the Lionesses struggled with, but for the second game in a row, Agyemang came to her side’s rescue. Only thrown on as an 85th-minute substitute, Agyemang had barely touched the ball before Guilani parried a cross into her path in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Displaying remarkable composure, the teenager drilled a clinical low finish to level the scores.
Agyemang almost won it in extra-time, clipping a shot against the crossbar, but as was the case at Wembley three years ago, the final say belonged to Kelly. Bring on the final – and a chance to become back-to-back champions.
