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Kelly: I’m very proud to be English (1:32)
Chloe Kelly has described England as a “movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat” after her side’s 2-1 win over Italy at Euro 2025. (1:32)
GENEVA — England defender Alex Greenwood was lost for words when trying to describe the Lionesses’ 2-1 comeback victory over Italy in the semifinals of Euro 2025 as their fairytale journey continued to reach their third major tournament final on the bounce.
It’s been a rollercoaster journey in Switzerland. The Lionesses lost their opening group stage match to France 2-1 before finishing Group D in second following wins over the Netherlands and Wales. They then fell behind 2-0 to Sweden in the quarterfinal and had to claw a win back through extra time and penalties to reach the semifinal.
England conceded early to Italy in the 34th minute and left it until the final minute of stoppage time to equalise via substitute Michelle Agyemang and send the game to extra time. Chloe Kelly then scored the rebound from her saved penalty in the 119th minute to reach the final and Greenwood said the whole run has been indescribable.
“It’s actually chaos. I can’t right now. I’m going to need a little bit of time to process that,” Greenwood said after the match.
Alex Greenwood celebrates Michelle Agyemang’s equaliser against Italy. Ane Frosaker/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images
“I mean fair play to us. I don’t know how late the goal was, but I know it was probably one of the last kicks of the game. It shows so much character. Fair play to the girls again who have come on the pitch and made a massive difference. I’m really proud.”
The 31-year-old has played six major tournaments with England but says it will take her a while for this one to sink in.
“I can’t compare the tournaments, to be honest. I’ve just literally said in there to Aggie [Beever-Jones], ‘this is your first tournament and this is my sixth.’ You can’t compare any of them. Right now, I can’t even think about 22, 23. I just can only process this one.
“It’s going to take me a while to process this one, but right now, I think the focus is probably like you just said and go get ready for Sunday.”
Greenwood described the evening’s showing as a “proper England” performance and admitted that there has been pressure on the side to reach consecutive finals. Despite this, she praised the fight the team have showed in Switzerland.
“Oh, I am [very proud]. I don’t think I can describe the tournament. It’s been crazy. The standards have got so high and the expectation on England is to always to reach a semi or a final and we’ve delivered again.
“Listen, there’s been times where we’ve made hard work of it, but I think we showed the resilience of a proper England team. We’ll fight all the way to the last second and we’ve got our rewards for that today.”
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Following back-to-back games spanning 120 minutes and a penalty shootout against Sweden in the quarterfinal, the race is on to have the players back to full fitness ahead of the final on Sunday in Basel. Greenwood came off the pitch in the 121st minute limping while Lauren James was replaced at halftime and was seen with ice on her ankle.
The Lionesses will now rest up and watch Wednesday’s second semifinal, knowing they will face either a rematch of the 2022 Euros final against Germany or the 2023 World Cup final against Spain.
“I’ve played this game long enough to know how to recover from games, but it’s going to be crucial from now until Sunday. I think the biggest message is recovery.
“We’ll do that properly. We’ve got a fantastic support networks and the staff, they work so so hard to make sure we’re ready for every game,” she added.
