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Lucy Bronze believes England’s qualification for the Euro 2025 final shows the mettle of the squad to prove their consistency at major tournaments.
It means they will travel to Basel on Sunday to face either Spain or Germany in their third consecutive major tournament final.
“People say that England haven’t been consistent in the past few years but getting to three consecutive major finals shows what this team is made of,” emphasised Bronze.
“We fight until the end. It probably wasn’t our best performance again but Italy were a fantastic team as well, they started really well.
“It shows the fight that we have and the talent that we’ve got with players coming off the bench to make the difference.”
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Italy took the lead in the 33rd minute through Barbara Bonansea and looked set to see out the game with the slender advantage as they packed bodies behind the ball with five at the back.
But the introduction of Michelle Agyemang once more proved vital to England’s fortunes as she provided the equaliser in the 96th minute after just 11 minutes on the pitch.
And while for fans the 19-year-old may be the surprise package of the tournament, her talent is not a well kept secret in the England camp.
“I’m not surprised [by Michelle],” admitted Bronze. “I remember the first time she came to training I already knew this girl was destined to be part of this group.
“She did it coming on against Belgium, that was the first time for all the fans, and from that moment onwards we knew that she was going to be special.
“Obviously she needs time, she’s a 19-year-old. She’s doing fantastically coming off the bench and putting in performances and working hard.
“But the fact that she’s 19 and she’s got so many years to improve and keep getting better. It's frightening to think of the forwards and the attackers we’ve got at England and so many of them are so young as well.”
The second difference maker would be a familiar face for Lionesses fans as 2022 hero Chloe Kelly stepped up to the plate when England won a penalty late into extra time.
While the spot-kick supremo did not dispatch at the first time of asking, she was reactive enough to fire home the rebound to send her side through to the Euro 2025 final.
“[Chloe] has got this attitude and this confidence that you can’t buy,” said Bronze.
“She’s a great teammate to have around. She’s not started any of the games but every single game she’s come on she’s made a difference.
“She’s one of those players you want on your team and not on the other team that’s for sure.”
It means England have now scraped through their quarter-final and semi-final, after recovering from a two-goal deficit against Sweden to triumph on penalties in Zurich.
After Geneva also experienced the tumult of emotions, questions have been raised about the Lionesses’ performances as they have consistently produced slow starts on the big stage.
They also started their tournament as a whole slowly as they made their group stage a tough test after losing to France in their opening match.
But Bronze insists belief has remained in the camp throughout, with the side focused on a trip to the St. Jakob Arena from the outset.
“We said it after the France game that we still believed we could still make it to the final,” she said.
“Maybe other people didn’t believe that but losing that game brought us closer together and showed us what we needed to work on.
“We still made it to the final. Now tonight’s just about recovering, obviously enjoying the moment, but we need to recover.
“We’ve played two 120 minutes and we want to be ready for the final.”
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