Fair play to the Spanish press for finding another element of a Chloe Kelly penalty that some may find “unnecessary”. And no, it was not spinning the ball back onto the spot, or the little stamp either side of the circle, or the raising of the left leg before skipping into the run-up, all parts of Kelly’s routine which are, to her, completely necessary.
It was instead Kelly’s little side-eye to Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll, after thumping her penalty into the net to win England the Euros, that caught some attention. Kelly’s focus was on running towards the England fans after producing the winning moment in a second consecutive Euros final, and there was only a fleeting glance in Coll’s direction.
But it was enough to transmit the feeling that everybody already knew, anyway, that when the moment came, Kelly was going to remain composed and deliver another clutch moment. It was never in doubt, even if Kelly had her previous penalty saved in the semi-final win over Italy and admitted to missing three penalties in training before the Euro 2025 final. “I don’t miss penalties twice,” Kelly said.
How England relied on that confidence throughout the Euros and were rescued by Kelly’s self-assurance to change a game. Her substitute appearances in Switzerland brought an assist in the quarter-final, the winner in the semi-final and another assist in the final, to go along with another winning penalty in the shootout. Of the four England have now won under Sarina Wiegman, Kelly has scored the fifth penalty to win three of them, and kept them alive in the other.
Yet, there is another world where Kelly was not at the Euros at all to save England. Having been frozen out by Manchester City, the 27-year-old was in a “dark place” off the pitch and contemplating quitting the game if she did not get her move away on the final day of the January transfer window. Eventually, Arsenal came calling and re-signed her on loan. Kelly was left out of Wiegman’s next England squad, having hardly played, but four months later, she was heading to the Euros as a Champions League winner after Arsenal’s win over Barcelona in Lisbon.
Without that, there may not have been Hannah Hampton’s heroics or Michelle Agyemang’s impact. Had Kelly not found her smile again, Wiegman would not have been telling her squad before the Euro 2025 final that “b****es get sh** done” as a way of motivating her squad. Kelly has got it done for Wiegman.
“She is bloody amazing,” Kelly said. “She is an incredible woman. What she has done for this country, we should all be so grateful for. What she has done for me, individually, she gave me hope, when I probably didn’t have any.”
Kelly would also thank “everyone that wrote me off” – as well as those who helped her through the “dark moments”. Kelly’s confidence, she said, comes from herself – but it also had to be built back up again by those closest to her. “There were a lot of tears at full time,” Kelly said. “Especially when I saw my family.”
And so England at the Euros have been able to call upon pure Kelly, a player who attracts iconic moments like no other. “When she’s on the pitch, no matter what, she’s going to push her shoulders back, big up her chest and she’s going to go for it,” Lucy Bronze said.
“She thrives in those moments where all eyes are on her and she knows she needs to produce, and she’s just got this belief in herself,” said Esme Morgan. “Chloe just doesn’t care what other people think.”
Her penalty run-up, for example, and her leaping, jumpy technique she developed while a teenager at Everton, is unique in the game.
“It is something that just works for me, I can’t explain it too much,” she said. “I actually spoke with one of the coaches the other day about it. It’s just my routine that works for me and I take my time, I take my breath, and I am confident in that. Taking a penalty normally would feel a bit weird to me.”
And when Kelly spins the ball back onto the spot, it’s all about waiting for the right moment. “It’s just making sure that I am ready, not letting anyone take me off my routine,” she said. “I spin the ball so I feel like it is right and then, when I am ready, there is no amount of time, that’s just when I feel that’s the perfect one.”
Even in her darkest moments, Kelly kept the belief that her year could turn around, but surely not like this. “Round the corner was a Champions League final – won that – and now a Euros final – won that,” she smiled. “So thank you, everyone that wrote me off.” And that is not cocky. It’s just true.
