Women's Euro 2025: 'Kelly & Agyemang are this year's Russo & Toone'

"Kelly and Agyemang are this year's Russo and Toone."

A substance from a BBC Sport idiosyncratic aft England's dramatic Euro 2025 semi-final win implicit Italy summed it up perfectly.

En way to winning Euro 2022 3 years ago, the Lionesses relied heavy connected their ace subs - peculiarly Alessia Russo and Ella Toone.

The duo some featured successful each six games astatine that tournament, but neither of them started a match.

Toone came disconnected the seat to people 2 goals - including 1 successful the last - portion Russo scored 4 - the astir a substitute has ever registered successful an variation of the Women's European Championship.

Fast guardant to 2025 and determination is simply a caller treble enactment making a sanction for themselves and propelling Sarina Wiegman's broadside to different large tourney final.

Arsenal guardant Chloe Kelly has travel disconnected the seat successful each of England's matches truthful acold successful Switzerland, portion her Gunners teammate Michelle Agyemang has made 3 substitute appearances.

The brace were instrumental successful England's progression to the semi-final, and again for the final.

Both came connected successful the quarter-final erstwhile England were 2-0 down to Sweden. Kelly provided the assistance for Lucy Bronze's extremity and playing a portion successful mounting up the equaliser, scored by Agyemang successful the 81st infinitesimal to unit other time. Kelly was besides 1 of the 3 England players to people successful the shootout arsenic England reached the past four.

Five days aboriginal against Italy, England erstwhile again recovered themselves down and Wiegman had to crook to her seat - specifically Kelly and Agyemang - to prevention the day.

Teenager Agyemang kept England successful the tourney and the 19-year-old equalised successful the 96th infinitesimal of mean clip to unit other time.

Then, with a infinitesimal near earlier a punishment shootout, Kelly recovered the bottommost country from the rebound aft her punishment was saved to nonstop the Lionesses into successive Euros finals.

Agyemang was a header inclusion successful Wiegman's Euro 2025 squad, having made lone 1 elder quality earlier the tournament.

She made headlines connected her debut successful April, scoring conscionable 41 seconds aft being introduced against Belgium.

Asked if Agyemang could beryllium a "wildcard" disconnected the seat aft naming her successful the 23-player squad, Wiegman said: "Yeah I deliberation so, I deliberation so. We volition spot what she tin bring.

"I person seen her successful grooming sessions and what she did successful Belgium - she tin bring thing different. I anticipation she tin amusement that."

It's harmless to accidental Agyemang showed Wiegman what she tin do.

Her extremity against Italy was her 2nd successful Switzerland, making her the archetypal teen to nett doubly astatine a Women's Euros since Cecilie Pedersen for Norway successful 2009.

The 19-year-old says she doesn't cognize however she keeps redeeming England erstwhile they request it most.

"I don't know," she said aft the crippled successful Geneva. "It's by the grace of God. We are doing wonders arsenic a squad and I americium truthful arrogant that I tin accidental I'm a portion of this team."

England skipper Leah Williamson, who was replaced by her Arsenal team-mate Agyemang successful the 85th infinitesimal said: "She feels inevitable close now.

"She is quality. What she brings, she is simply a nightmare to play against. I'm gladsome she is my teammate for nine and country. She deserves her flowers, I anticipation she gets them, I anticipation she enjoys contiguous and I anticipation she is acceptable to spell astatine the weekend."

BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha, who backed Agyemang to person a breakthrough tournament, added: "She's 19 years aged successful a European Championship semi-final and she played similar she had been determination tonnes of times similar immoderate of her team-mates.

"She is an implicit star."

Agyemang astir scored a 2nd against Italy erstwhile she lobbed the goalkeeper and deed the crossbar minutes earlier Kelly's penalty.

"She astir got the winner," England's grounds goalscorer Ellen White said.

"I deliberation she is conscionable a special, peculiar player, a peculiar quality being. She plays beyond her years and has been perfectly phenomenal, what she's done with constricted minutes, she's turned England's past connected its caput and helped them scope different final.

Kelly's victor against Italy successful the 119th infinitesimal was the latest extremity ever scored astatine a Women's Euros.

The guardant - who signed permanently for Arsenal earlier Euro 2025 - said she considered taking a interruption from football earlier this twelvemonth aft a hard spell with Manchester City.

She joined Arsenal connected indebtedness and earned a spot backmost successful Wiegman's England squad. Now she and the Lionesses are reaping the rewards.

"The moments successful January erstwhile I felt similar giving up shot makes you truthful grateful for these moments present contiguous and makes you bask each infinitesimal of that," Kelly said aft the game.

Kelly, who famously scored the winning extremity for England arsenic they bushed Germany astatine Wembley to bushed Euro 2022, has "made a difference" successful each crippled successful Switzerland according to Bronze.

"She did it earlier the past Euros arsenic well," Bronze said. "We hide she came backmost from an ACL wounded but past she came disconnected the seat and scored the winning extremity successful the Euros final.

"She has been doing it week in, week retired and she's conscionable got this cognition and this assurance that I don't deliberation you tin buy.

"She has not started immoderate of the games but successful each azygous crippled she's travel connected and made a difference. She's 1 of those players that you privation connected your squad and not connected the different team, that's for sure."

Kelly's punishment was initially saved by Laura Giuliani, but she drilled location the rebound to debar different shootout.

"Thankfully Chloe Kelly had the composure to sprint and tuck it nether the goalkeeper," England grounds goalscorer Ellen White told BBC Radio 5 Live. "To person the composure and inactive travel up.

"She's travel to England's rescue, she's got that mentality to travel connected and marque a immense difference."

In her post-match quality conference, Wiegman was asked if Agyemang is forcing herself into her starting line-up for the final.

"She is not forcing me," Wiegman said. "She is precise grateful to get minutes and she is precise acceptable for it. Her maturation and improvement went truthful quickly. From not starting astatine Brighton to getting tons much minutes and showing however bully she is, to coming into our team. It went creaseless for her and she feels precise bully astir that."

Here is what BBC Sport readers deliberation connected whether Kelly and Agyemang merit to commencement successful Basel connected 27 July.

Stephen: Please let's get the starting 11 close connected Sunday - Kelly and Agyemang indispensable start. And James conscionable fades distant successful the unit games.

Rich: Chloe Kelly is simply a large crippled player. Something ever happens with her connected the pitch. Should commencement up of James. Substitutions request to hap earlier. Managers deliberation they are excessively clever by fractional sometimes.

Anon: Well our luck is inactive successful but, I can't recognize SW's substitutions. Kelly should person travel connected astatine half-time. And wherefore were Agyemang and Beever-Jones enactment connected truthful late?

Jas: They request commencement Kelly and Agyemang. This is the 2nd clip they made a difference.

Will: Agyemang should commencement successful the final, she is exceptional.