Chloe Kelly seals England’s Euro 2025 crown with second career-winning strike on final stage
Chloe Kelly has carved her name in England football folklore once more—this time with a chilling, match-winning penalty under the weight of national pressure. With nerves of steel, the 27-year-old fired past Spain’s Cata Coll in a tense shootout finale to secure back-to-back UEFA Women’s European Championships for the Lionesses.
There was no shirt-whirling celebration this time. Just a subtle smile, a point to the travelling England fans in Basel, and a roar of pure relief as her teammates engulfed her. That quiet defiance marked a shift from Wembley 2022’s euphoria to 2025’s hardened, relentless grit.
The Euro 2025 final at St Jakob-Park was no walkover. England were forced to adapt early after Lauren James hobbled off with an ankle injury. Enter Chloe Kelly. With her trademark self-belief and attacking sharpness, she immediately altered the dynamic. The previously settled Spanish defence—led by Irene Paredes and Ona Batlle—suddenly found themselves under siege.
It was Kelly’s whipped cross from the left that found Alessia Russo for England’s second-half equaliser, cancelling out Mariona Caldentey’s opener. The game lurched towards extra time, then penalties, where Kelly would write history again.
As she stepped forward, calm yet charged with purpose, Lucy Bronze signalled her trust from the touchline. Kelly’s ritual—two steps, a ponytail adjustment, the infamous hop—preceded a thunderous strike high into the net. England were European champions again, and Kelly was the hero once more.
But this moment of glory caps a season defined by resilience. Cast aside at Manchester City and struggling with form, Kelly’s England place looked in serious doubt. Her deadline-day loan move to Arsenal in January didn’t just revive her club career—it reignited her spirit. By spring, she’d lifted a Champions League title. By summer, she’d returned to the international spotlight on the grandest stage.
Her journey through Euro 2025 has been anything but passive. In the quarter-final against Sweden, she came off the bench to supply Lucy Bronze’s goal and delivered the cross that led to Michelle Agyemang’s equaliser. She kept England alive in that shootout with yet another cold-blooded penalty. Against Italy, she missed one in extra time—but pounced on the rebound like a predator, slotting it home with ruthless precision.
Kelly’s influence across the tournament has been surgical. She may not have started every match, but she finished them. And always when it mattered most.
Speaking after the Sweden win, she summed up her mindset: “It was to just try and impact the game. We needed a little change and a little bit of energy. We work hard in training to take our moments—and that is what the substitutes did.”
In truth, she’s done more than impact games—she’s altered outcomes. England’s depth has been key, but Kelly has become the embodiment of that strength. The bubbly girl from West London now stands among titans, not just for her ability, but for her icy nerves and match-winning instincts.
No other England player—male or female—has ever scored the winner in two European finals. This isn’t a career footnote. It’s legend status, etched in penalty-box granite.
Chloe Kelly didn’t just score a goal. She delivered England’s defining blow—twice. And this time, she did it on foreign soil, against Spain, in the most pressure-filled moment of her life. Gamechanger. History-maker. England immortal.
