The reigning champions rode their luck in Tuesday's semi-final with Italy until a place in Sunday's final, against Spain or Germany, was sealed

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Perhaps England are just meant to win this year's European Championship. It certainly felt like the Lionesses were fighting alongside some sort of supernatural power as they battled back from the brink to beat Italy 2-1 in Tuesday's semi-final, just as it did five days earlier when they overcame Sweden in the last eight. On both occasions, England stared elimination in the face – and dodged it.

Nothing summed up the performance in Geneva better than the goal that sealed the Lionesses' place in Sunday's final. It came in the penultimate minute of extra-time, when Chloe Kelly's penalty was saved, only for the winger to latch onto the rebound and put the ball in the back of the net on the second attempt. It was scruffy, it wasn't convincing, but it was an example of England never letting up, of them giving everything to get over the line, and somehow crossing it.

There's no hiding from the fact that the defending champions were far from their best on Tuesday. With 33 minutes on the clock, Italy took the lead through Barbara Bonansea and, for most of the next hour, they held onto it well. Yes, England cranked up the pressure in the second half, but their final ball was often wasteful, their finishing wayward and their set-piece deliveries wildly inconsistent. As the clock ticked into second-half stoppage time, up came goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to attack a late corner – only for Kelly to send it straight into the side-netting. The Lionesses kept getting in their own way.

But while there were many of those moments for England where the wrong player attacked a pass, where someone opted to unleash a wild shot from range instead of playing in a team-mate, where possession was given away just as an attack was heating up, there were also those moments where Lionesses came up clutch.

Take Hampton, who had little to do except pick the ball out from the back of her net all game, until she made a huge double save in the dying moments to ensure England didn't go 2-0 down. Look at Michelle Agyemang, who marked what was just her fourth senior international appearance with her third goal and was so close to making it four from four, but for the woodwork to deny her a winning goal in extra-time. Or see Kelly, who didn't react in anguish when Laura Giuliani parried her spot-kick, but instead reacted quicker than anyone to pounce onto the loose ball and get the job done, despite initially failing to do so.

There is a feeling that grit and resilience can only carry a team so far when it comes to a tournament as elite as the Euros. Surely England's luck has to run out at some point, right? Surely they will need to turn in a performance of quality, as well as bringing all that fighting spirit and determination to the table, in order to beat Spain or Germany in Sunday's final? That's certainly what many will be thinking after Tuesday's game. But some will see it a different way. Some – and many heartbroken Italians are surely among them – will feel like everything is simply falling into place for England to retain their continental title.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Geneva…

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  WINNER: Michelle Agyemang

  At this point, anyone who has paid attention to Euro 2025 will know Agyemang's story. They'll know that she wasn't in the Lionesses' picture until less than four months ago, when only a flurry of attacking injuries prompted Sarina Wiegman to call upon the inexperienced teenager; they'll know that she scored a beautiful goal just 41 seconds into her debut in Belgium; they'll know that she was a surprise inclusion in England's squad for this tournament, despite not playing for her country again after that debut; and they'll know that she is now justifying that selection and then some. Yet, all of that is worth repeating because Agyemang's story is incredible and its shine should not wear off just because it continues to be told again and again.

  On Tuesday, she scored her third goal in four England appearances. That's as many goals as she scored in 17 Women's Super League games this past season, averaging a strike every 199 minutes during a loan spell at Brighton. For the Lionesses, she is finding the back of the net every 35 minutes. She is 19 years old.

  The way Agyemang continues to impact games so forcefully makes her the perfect super-sub – or 'finishers' as managers, including Wiegman, like to call them nowadays. But has she gone beyond that now? Her ruthlessness in front of goal, her ability to cause chaos for opposing defenders and her raw and exciting talent is all game-changing for England. Could Wiegman be tempted to have it all in play from the start in Sunday's final? Perhaps it would be a risk, with Agyemang's inexperience. That said, it's hardly held her back so far.

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  WINNER: Chloe Kelly

  It would've been so easy for Kelly to be on the opposite side of things on Tuesday. After all, she didn't convert her penalty in the 119th minute. She exuded calmness and composure beforehand, but got her calculations wrong while Giuliani got hers right, and suddenly it looked like the momentum could swing right back in Italy's favour before the seemingly inevitable shootout.

  All of that was there for a brief moment, maybe a second or two, until Kelly pounced on the rebound and directed it beyond the goalkeeper. It all sealed the winger's place in England folklore once again, enhancing the hero status she secured when she stepped up in extra-time during the final of Euro 2022 and scored the goal that delivered the Lionesses' first major title.

  It's not been an easy year for Kelly, who looked a long-shot to make England's squad for this tournament when she was struggling to get a kick at Manchester City in the first half of the 2024-25 season. But a deadline-day loan switch to Arsenal in January changed everything, led to her lifting the Champions League trophy with the Gunners in May and, thanks to her increased game time, got her on the plane to Switzerland. She might continue to struggle to make the England XI on a consistent basis, but she certainly makes her mark when she gets her opportunities.

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  LOSER: Cristiana Girelli

  Every time the camera panned to the Italy bench after the hour-mark on Tuesday, Cristiana Girelli looked to be having a truly awful time. The Italy captain has been exceptional throughout Euro 2025, guiding the Azzurre to an unlikely semi-final not only with her leadership but with her all-round centre-forward play, which has included three goals in five outings. As her nation battled for a place in the final, though, she could only play her part for 64 minutes, at which point she was withdrawn due to an injury sustained at the worst possible time.

  Forced to watch from the sidelines, helpless as Italy tried to get the job done without her, the 35-year-old was transformed into a fan, peering through her fingers and praying for the final whistle to come while her side were still ahead. Below the surface, meanwhile, was the possibility of this being her last game for Italy, with her admitting that she will think about her international future after this tournament is over.

  If that is how Girelli bows out on the big stage, it won't quite feel fitting. This is someone who has delivered some of the greatest moments for the Azzurre in recent memory and it would be a shame for it all to end on such a negative note.

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  WINNER: Sarina Wiegman

  There will be a lot of England fans out there who have mixed feelings about Wiegman after she guided the Lionesses into a third-successive major tournament final. Of course, that is a remarkable achievement – an unprecedented one, in truth. Until the Dutchwoman took over in September 2021, England had only ever been to one final of such magnitude, back at Euro 2009.

  Yet, this was extremely close to being a semi-final exit instead – just as it was nearly a quarter-final exit six days ago, when the Lionesses scraped through against Sweden. In both games, Wiegman danced with death, waiting and waiting and waiting until she made her changes, showing an extreme lack of urgency in situations that seemed to need plenty of it. At the end of it all, though, Wiegman's subs paid off. Agyemang and Kelly scored the goals, with Beth Mead playing significant roles in both as well.

  Of making big decisions as a coach, Emma Hayes once said: “If you get it right you’re an unbelievable manager. If you don’t, you’re a pile of sh*te." Wiegman certainly walked a fine line with her actions on Tuesday, that much is an understatement. But the final outcome means that when she walks out with her team on Sunday, she'll have coached in the final of Euro 2017, the 2019 World Cup, Euro 2022, the 2023 World Cup and Euro 2025. She is the best manager in the international women's game today – this latest accomplishment only emphasises as much.