The 'wild card' member of the team, teenager Mitchell Agyemang, inspired England to the Euro final
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Teenager Michelle Agyemang has been named as a 'wild card' in the England women's football team for Euro 2025. This season has been unique in itself for this teenager. With the help of his game, the defending champion England has reached the final of the tournament.
England came close to being knocked out of the tournament on two occasions. The savior of the team on both occasions was 19-year-old Arsenal forward Agyemang. England were 2-0 down at one point in the quarter-finals against Sweden in Zurich.
So coach Sarina Wigman let him enter the field for the last 20 minutes. After that, the game slowly started to turn in England's favour. Luca Bronze scored England's first goal before Agyemang added the equalizer in extra time. Then England won the penalty shootout.
Tuesday's semi-final in Geneva was even more dramatic. In that match, Agyemang entered the field in the 85th minute. At that time, Italy was leading 1-0. Agyemang equalized in the sixth minute of injury time in the second half. England later won the match 2-1 in extra time. She herself says, "The way we're playing, it's all weird."
She adds, 'On the other hand, it also shows how the team is. I'm counting myself lucky because we're going to be in the tournament for another week.''Agyemang's goal was a tiebreaker, but Chloe Kelly scored the decisive goal late in the game.
Now England's focus will be on defending the title they won three years ago. At the time, Agyemang was not in the English team, nor had she made her senior debut for Arsenal. Until the previous Euros, Agyemang was particularly Wembley's 'ball girl'. She was on the field when England beat Northern Ireland. Coincidentally, this was coach Wigman's first game for the English team. Agyemang made her debut for Arsenal in November 2022.
Then when April arrived, she got the opportunity to debut for England. Her performance was a miracle in itself, as she scored within 41 seconds of entering the field against Belgium. That too through an excellent volley. In this case, Wigman had the option of a player who could enter the field from the bench and play the role of an 'impact player'.
Wigman says, 'I said in the announcement of the team, Agyemang brings something special to the team. Now she is just 19 years old. He also knows what his role is. If he continues his impressive performance, his future is very bright.
Arsenal sent Agyemang on loan to Watford in the 2023/2024 season. She also had a great performance from Watford. Agyemang is the youngest player in the English team that has now reached Switzerland. She also entered the field as a substitute player in the first match against France. Now his name is 'Super Sub'.
"She is happy and excited about the number of minutes she has been able to play," added coach Wigman, "her role will increase in the days to come."
