Chloe Kelly: 'When you're needed, you take your moment'

England super-sub Chloe Kelly reflected on her impact from the bench in the Lionesses’ EURO 2025 quarter-final win over Sweden.

The Arsenal forward was introduced by Sarina Wiegman in the second half, with the Lionesses finding themselves two goals down.

And she made a stunning impact, playing a part in both goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang to take the match to extra time before calmly despatching a clinical penalty in the eventual shootout victory.

“I didn’t feel under pressure,” said Kelly.

“I just wanted to go on and create some goals for the girls and be at my best. That’s what I tried to do and hopefully everyone can see that.

“I just tried to put the ball in the box and play to my strengths.

“The girls coming onto the pitch did their job and executed it really well and I think it just shows the whole squad are 23.

“When you’re needed, you take your moment and that’s exactly what we did today.”

And as the rollercoaster ride of the penalty shootout ensued, with sudden death needed, Kelly remained modest about her own contribution in the eye of the storm of mounting pressure.

“We were just as stressed as the fans,” she revealed.

“But we have belief. We worked hard out on the training pitch, even on penalties.

“We had the experience of playing in a penalty shootout out at the World Cup so we’ve experienced that in tournament football.

“It didn’t go quite as planned, but we got the job done.”

The Lionesses will now turn their attention to the semi-final, against Italy in Geneva next Tuesday evening (8pm BST), and the former QPR, Everton and Manchester City forward says the spirit and togetherness among the group will carry them into the game with confidence.

“Against teams like Sweden, there are going to be times when you’re struggling a bit and that’s football,” she added.

“But it’s about sticking together in those moments. Even in extra time, there were moments we felt uncomfortable but it’s about riding those storms together and knowing we’ve got resilient players in our team and we can bounce back from anything. We showed that tonight.”