EURO 2025: England wins final against Spain - thanks to joker Kelly

England's women's soccer team demolished the Spanish world champions in a thrilling European Championship final , defending their title in dramatic fashion . The Lionesses showed great nerves of steel, celebrating a 3-1 penalty shootout victory in Basel after the score had been 1-1 (1-1, 0-1) after 120 minutes.

In front of more than 34,000 spectators at a sold-out St. Jakob-Park in Basel, England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved penalties from Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmatí. Substitute Salma Paralluelo also missed. Then it was Chloe Kelly who scored the decisive try, sparking huge celebrations for the English women.

In what was a long, one-sided match, Mariona Caldentey (25th minute) gave the Spanish favorites the lead. But the English fought their way back into the game, with Alessia Russo equalizing (57th minute).

The woman for the important goals

After her decisive penalty, substitute Chloe Kelly stormed completely uninhibited towards the roaring English fans, then disappeared into a wild chorus of celebration. Thanks to her goal, the Lionesses are once again the football queens of Europe, thus avenging their defeat in the 2023 World Cup final .

Kelly, with the decisive penalty, and Hannah Hampton, with her two saves, became heroines. "I'm incredibly proud of this team, it's incredible," the striker said after the match on ZDF. "I'm so grateful. The penalty just had to work out." Kelly added that she hoped the whole of England would come out and celebrate. After the Wembley triumph against Germany in 2022, it was England's second European Championship title, and Sarina Wiegman became the second coach after Tina Theune to achieve a hat trick at European Championships.

England's European Championship heroine was already thinking about quitting

The Lionesses' 27-year-old Kelly was the reason they even reached the final. Although it was only on the rebound, the Arsenal player ultimately converted her weak penalty in the European Championship semifinal against Italy (2-1 after extra time) . "She made the difference in every single game. She has that attitude and confidence that you can't buy," Lucy Bronze enthused about her teammate before the final.

Now Kelly is England's greatest hero. At the beginning of the year, it looked as if the European Championship would take place without Kelly. At Manchester City, where she had been a regular for years, she was only on the bench in the fall. "As recently as January, there were moments when I considered quitting football," Kelly said. But instead of quitting, she returned to her boyhood club, Arsenal, at the end of January. With the Gunners, the Londoner is finally getting more playing time again, almost always starting. This included her appearance in the 1-0 Champions League win against Barcelona at the end of May.

It remains the same: at the European Championships, never from the beginning

Kelly waited a long time for her first start at the European Championships. In each of the previous five matches, she came off the bench. Nevertheless, she played a major role in England's run to the final. The 57-time international saved the reeling defending champions from elimination in the quarter-finals. England were 2-0 down against Sweden when the substitute came on in the 78th minute. Just seconds later, Kelly set up Bronze for the equaliser with a dream cross. Two minutes later, she had a hand in Agyemang's equaliser. And in the penalty shootout, she was one of three England players to convert.

A player couldn't really offer much more reason to recommend herself for the starting eleven. Coach Wiegman, however, also left Kelly on the bench for the European Championship final against Spain. The striker made it clear before the match that she's handling her role quite well. "We have 23 great players in our group. And each of us is ready for any opportunity we're given," Kelly said.

The striker has proven repeatedly, and not only in recent days, that she meant exactly what she said. In the European Championship final three years ago, England defeated Germany 2-1 after extra time at Wembley. Substitute Chloe Kelly scored the decisive goal in the 110th minute.

And now in Basel , this story came to fruition: Coming on as a substitute again, Kelly once again emerged as the match winner. It seems to be her perfect role.

----------------------------------

England - Spain 1:1 (1:1,0:0) aet, 3:1 aie

Goals: 0:1 Mariona (25th), 1:1 Russo (57th)

Penalty shootout: Coll (Spain) saves penalty from Mead, 0-1 Patri, 1-1 Greenwood, Hampton (England) saves penalty from Mariona, 2-1 Charles, Hampton (England) saves penalty from Aitana, Coll (Spain) saves penalty from Williamson, Paralluelo (Spain) shoots wide, 3-1 Kelly

Spectators in Basel: 34,203 (sold out)