GENEVA (AP) — England is living on the brink and survived another near-inevitable elimination all the way to another Women’s European Championship final.
The defending champion broke Italy’s hearts — twice — in a 2-1 win after extra time in their semifinal on Tuesday.
Chloe Kelly scored the decisive goal in the 119th minute, shooting home the rebound only after Italy goalkeeper Laura Giuliani saved her penalty kick.
Italy was forced into extra time because another substitute, Michelle Agyemang, leveled the game deep into stoppage time.
Kelly and Agyemang also were crucial for England in another great escape in the quarterfinals against Sweden.
England will now defend its title in Sunday’s final in Basel against either world champion Spain or Germany. Their semifinal is Wednesday in Zurich.
“When it finishes like this I am enjoying it but it’s a little bit dramatic,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman, who has never been eliminated from the tournament. She led her native Netherlands to the 2017 title before joining England.
It was all so cruel on unheralded Italy, which had led since Barbara Bonansea’s rasping volleyed shot in the 33rd minute.
“It’s a bitter defeat because we were one minute away from the final,” Italy coach Andrea Soncin said in translated comments. “But we have to be proud.”
Either potential opponent is a title rematch for England, having beaten Germany in the Euro 2022 final — also decided by a Kelly goal in extra time — and lost the 2023 World Cup final to Spain.
England escapes
For the second time in six days, England had stared down what looked a sure exit and survived into extra time.
Italy would have been a worthy winner just for the immense defending of central backs Elena Linari and Cecilia Salvai as England pressed intensely in the second half.
But Agyemang fired in a low shot after Giuliani spilled a cross in a rare handling error. The ball arrowed toward the net cruelly through the legs of both Linari and Giuliani.
After the final whistle blew, Guiliani lay flat out and face down against the turf all alone in the middle of Italy’s half of the field.
The penalty was conceded by substitute Emma Severini for tangling with Beth Mead. Severini had a clear chance in the 86th to lift Italy into a two-goal lead but her close-range shot after a corner was smothered by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
England’s wild ride
The defending champion is taking a bumpy road to a second straight title match.
It started with a humbling 2-1 loss to France in the opening game that was Wiegman’s first defeat at a Women’s Euros in her third tournament. It did, however, after routing the Netherlands and Wales by a combined score of 10-1, keep England out of Spain’s half of the knockout bracket.
England then trailed 2-0 to Sweden after 78 minutes of their quarterfinal, and twice in the penalty shootout would have been out had the Swedes not failed with their next spot-kick.
Supersub Agyemang
At age 19, Michelle Agyemang is making an incredible start to her England career just a few years after she was a ball girl for the team.
Her third goal in just her fourth national-team game also was her second crucial equalizer in the Euro 2025 knockout rounds.
The Arsenal forward almost won the game before Kelly, but her deft lob in the 117th rebounded off the Italy crossbar.
“I think that gave us a new lease of energy,” Kelly said of Agyemang’s impact. “When your forward is doing that, it’s special.”
Carter’s return
England defender Jess Carter was not in England’s starting lineup for the first time, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament.
Carter came on for the closing minutes to protect England’s lead and got a rousing cheer from fans.
Kelly said victory after the team united behind Carter was “a powerful moment to show this is what we expect.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
