BASEL, Switzerland — England star Chloe Kelly thanked Sarina Wiegman for the trust she showed in her and said the manager “gave me hope when I probably didn’t have any.”
Kelly scored the winning penalty in the shootout as England retained their Euro 2025 title on Sunday after their final with Spain ended 1-1 after extra-time.
Kelly was England’s heroine back in Euro 2022 when she scored the winning goal in their win over Germany, and she saved the Lionesses in Switzerland as a substitute.
She made a big impact off the bench against Sweden, and then scored the winner against Italy. In the final against Spain, she provided the assist for Alessia Russo’s equaliser and then hammered home the winning penalty.
It capped a rollercoaster year for Kelly. Back in January she contemplated walking away from the sport as she found herself out of favour at Manchester City. But she completed a loan move to Arsenal — a team she has since joined on a permanent deal — and started in their Champions League final win over Barcelona. Now she has added the Euro 2025 title.
“There were a lot of tears at full-time especially when I saw my family because those were the people that got me through those tough dark moments,” Kelly said.
“If that’s a story to tell, someone who maybe experiences something the same, tough times don’t last. Just around the corner was a Champions League final, won that. Then a Euros final, won that. Thank you to everyone that wrote me off, I’m grateful.”
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On the role Wiegman played, Kelly said: “She’s bloody amazing. She’s an incredible woman, what she’s done for this country, we should all be so grateful for. What she’s done for me individually, she gave me hope when I probably didn’t have any. She gave me an opportunity to represent my country again. I knew that I had to get game time and representing England is never a given.
“But what she has done for the women’s game, not just in England, in the Netherlands she has done it, she has taken it to a whole other level. The work doesn’t go unnoticed from the staff behind her, they’re incredible people and I’m so grateful to have worked with such amazing staff members.”
