Chloe’s Last Penalty Gives England the Last Laugh Over Spain to Claim Euro Title
England’s Lionesses defeated Spain 3-1 in a thrilling penalty shootout, after a breathtaking 1-1 stalemate that extended through extra times at St-Jakob-Park Stadium in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday.
The Spanish women, led by Captain Irene Paredes, began the game brightly, dominating possession and fully uncharged of the rhythm of the game. Their pressure soon paid off in the 25th minute when a beautifully delivered cross by Ona Batlle finds Mariona Caldentey inside the Lionesses’ eighteen yard box, and superbly headed past the English goal keeper to give La Roja, Spain’s women’s team the deserving-lead.
England’s mystery soon piled up after their key player, Lauren James picked up an ankle injury before halftime, and was replaced by Chloe Kelly, who turned out to be the game-changer. Her early inclusion into the game did not only reinforce the team’s weak wing, but she also provided the assist to Alessia Russo equalizer in the 57th minute of the match.
La Roja, despite fiercely dominating the game for 120 minutes, could not find their way past a strongly determined English backline. With nothing to separate the two teams after the extra time, the intense final headed to a penalty shootout – the first time in a Euro final since 1984.
From Setback to Glorious Comeback
Like the saying goes ” Every setback is a set-up for a comeback “. Beth Mead stepped up to take the first penalty for the Lionesses , but her initial effort was ruled out due to a violation of the newly implemented double-touch rule. Given a chance to retake, her second attempt went straight into the safe hands of the Spanish goalkeeper, Catalina Coll.
England’s first penalty loss was soon reciprocated with a doubt fine save by the Lionesses’ goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton, who denied Caldentey and two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner, Aitana Bonmati, retuning the moment in England’s favour.
Chloe Kelly with heads up in a moment of tension and pressure, stepped up with her foot firm on the green ground, and was about to recreate her 2022 heroics. With calm boldness, Kelly with her famous signature skip-step run-up, rifled a powerful shot which swift past the safe hands of the Spanish keeper, securing the English side a mesmerizing victory over a dominant Spain.
Jakob-Park Stadium erupted in roaring cheers from the Lionesses’ fans. The England flags filled the air as they Spanish side stood stunned and defeated.
Kelly said after securing the victory for his country, “I’m so proud, so proud to be English.”
“I was cool, I was composed and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,” She said
After a dramatic EURO’s final showdown and penalty shootout, the English goalkeeper described her side as “unbelievable “
Reflecting on the victory, she said “This team is just unbelievable, incredible. We’ve shown throughout this tournament that we can come back when we go a goal down. We have that grit. We never say die- we just keep going, and we did that today.”
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