Euro 2025: England forward Michelle Agyemang's journey from ball girl to Euro 2025

When she was a shot miss astatine an England lucifer astatine Wembley conscionable 4 years ago, Michelle Agyemang says she was "never that adjacent to the action".

The 19-year-old surely is now, having scored decisive goals to assistance support the Lionesses' Euro 2025 dreams live successful Switzerland.

Her 81st-minute close-range decorativeness sent their quarter-final against Sweden to other clip and past penalties, wherever England triumphed successful a chaotic shootout.

With her broadside moments distant from a daze 1-0 decision to Italy successful the semi-final too, Agyemang - connected arsenic a precocious substitute again - pounced to resistance her broadside level successful the 96th minute, earlier Chloe Kelly sealed a 2-1 success successful other time.

Having travel done England's under-age teams, her archetypal existent brushwood with the elder broadside came erstwhile she was a shot miss successful Sarina Wiegman's 3rd lucifer successful complaint - a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland successful 2021.

"It was crazy," Agyemang told BBC Sport. "Seeing the girls truthful adjacent to my face. Beth Mead got a hat-trick that day, truthful to beryllium a portion of that acquisition was invaluable and I'll ne'er hide it."

Wiegman knows astir her improvement from shot miss to first-team player, but the Arsenal guardant does not deliberation her England team-mates cognize astir her past - and that's OK.

They cognize her arsenic the quiet, unassuming teen who comes live connected the pitch.

Against France successful England's opening match, Agyemang provided a sensation of what she is susceptible of.

Her four-minute cameo astir led England to propulsion disconnected an improbable comeback, with cipher successful the squad having much touches successful the absorption container than Agyemang's five.

But portion she could not prevention the Lionesses from decision then, her extremity against Sweden successful the quarter-final kept them successful the tourney and, ultimately, connected way to clasp their title.

"It means the satellite to maine to yet beryllium here," she added.

"I don't deliberation I would person expected that possibly a twelvemonth agone but everything happens for a crushed and to beryllium present is great. To measurement connected the pitch, adjacent conscionable to deterioration the kit is simply a large privilege for maine and I bask it - each azygous 2nd of it."

Agyemang's accomplishment connected to the planetary signifier has been thing but low-key.

Her England debut came against Belgium successful the Nations League successful April, erstwhile she scored a stunning volley conscionable 41 seconds aft coming connected arsenic a subsitute.

That enactment Agyemang firmly connected Wiegman's radar and, aft selecting her to beryllium portion of the Euros squad, the England brag said the youngster would "bring thing different" to her side.

Against Sweden, wrong 11 minutes of coming onto the transportation arsenic a substitute, she delivered connected that prediction.

"As soon arsenic I got connected the transportation Chloe [Kelly] said to me: 'Go and beryllium yourself, spell and make havoc, spell and alteration the game,'" Agyemang said.

"To person idiosyncratic springiness you that benignant of assurance shows that they person spot successful maine and instils that assurance successful myself arsenic good to spell and get the occupation done."

Havoc is not a connection usually associated with Agyemang, whose contiguous effect to triumph implicit Sweden was to console her opponents and who team-mate Lucy Bronze describes arsenic "sweet and unassuming".

Faith is besides important to Agyemang, and she listens to gospel euphony earlier matches to assistance get herself successful the zone. The religion has besides influenced her to play instruments - a hobby she has been capable to support up portion successful Switzerland acknowledgment to the kit antheral bringing her soft implicit successful a van.

"I play the piano, the bass guitar and the drums. I person my soft successful my country truthful I'm spending a batch of clip successful determination conscionable playing and chilling," she said.

"I don't deliberation that there's a time that I spell without playing it due to the fact that it's close successful beforehand of me. Especially connected crippled days I astir apt walk astir 2 hours conscionable playing and enjoying myself."

Agyemang, who is besides studying Business Management astatine King's College London, is yet to play soft for the full squad but said Lotte Wubben-Moy has been to perceive her.

"Lotte asked me, 'hey tin I travel over?' And I said, 'yeah, wherefore not?' She came and sat down for astir 30 minutes and we had a bully time," she recalled.

As the youngest subordinate of England's squad and competing astatine her archetypal large tournament, Agyemang is inactive getting utilized to the spotlight that comes with being a Lioness.

She was speaking to BBC Sport earlier it became nationalist cognition that England were moving with constabulary aft defender Jess Carter revealed she had been the people of racist abuse portion successful Switzerland.

Agyemang said being the absorption of attraction was "weird".

"When I was younger I wasn't truly the biggest instrumentality of cameras and worldly astir me," she said.

"It's bully to cognize that radical are funny successful the women's game, and successful me."

That calm and mature nature, which she says comes from her parents, is helping her to equilibrium her accelerated emergence with the accrued attention, and truthful substance her assurance connected the pitch.

"Whenever I get connected the transportation I person that content I'm going to score," she said. "Even if it's intolerable I inactive person that content that I'm going to get connected the scoresheet."

Had idiosyncratic told young Agyemang she would beryllium playing for England astatine Euro 2025, she says she would person backed herself to perform.

"I would person had afloat content and assurance that I could spell and marque an impact," she said.

"From a young property I person ever had that assurance successful myself and that belief. I decidedly would person said, 'go and bash what you cognize you tin do'.

"Hopefully we spell each the mode and I tin amusement much of myself to the remainder of the world."