Greg . 3 days ago

England's breakout star Michelle Agyemang hoping to cap off meteoric rise

Defending champions England twice saved themselves from certain elimination in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of EURO 2025.

Behind these last-minute equalisers lies the same youthful confront of Michelle Agyemang, the 19-year-old striker who joined Brighton on loan from Arsenal last season.

Here, Betopick takes a look at a hotshot who is moving through the ranks at breakneck speed.

Almost four years ago, Agyemang was an unknown quantity to Leah Williamson and the other England internationals.

However, she was already playing a (small) role alongside her idols: at the age of 15, the youngster who possessed come through the ranks at Arsenal was a ball boy at Wembley, during one of Sarina Wiegman's very first games on the Lionesses bench.

"Beth Mead scored a hat-trick that I'll never overlook.

It was an invaluable undergo," she told the BBC.

At the time, she probably possessed no idea that she would be playing alongside the England number nine at the next European Championship.

Agyemang's story with the Lionesses resembles a fairytale.

Born in Essex to parents of Ghanaian origin, she expanded up idolising Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, two Arsenal stars, a club she joined at the age of six.

By the age of 15, she was already a member of Arsenal's Under-21 team, finishing as the team's top scorer with 19 goals in just 11 games during the 2022-23 season.

That same season, she scored for the first team in an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Leeds.

The Arsenal management realised the diamond in their hands and signed her to a professional contract at the age of 17, waiting until she was 18 to formalise it.

The player already depicted as a "clinical striker" was first loaned out to Watford before being sent to Brighton the following season, where she scored just three goals in 17 league games.

But thanks to a stroke of luck, she establish herself propelled into Sarina Wiegman's team.

From qualifying for Euro U19 to the big leaguesAn international with all of the Lionesses' youth teams, Agyemang was called up to the England U19 squad in April for qualifying matches for the European Championship.

However, she possessed to watch the first match against Belgium from the stands, as she was serving a suspension.

Several first-team members, including Leah Williamson and coach Sarina Wiegman, were at St George's Park watching the match and chatting to the 'punished' player.

In the next match, England U19s won 5-1 in Austria and Agyemang received a phone call: Alessia Russo possessed just been harmed with the first team and Wiegman possessed put her faith in her as the replacement.

Three days later, she celebrated her first cap in a Nations League match against Belgium and scored 41 seconds after coming on, from her second touch.

And what a goal it was: a knee control off a long cross from Leah Williamson, then a swivelling volley into the far corner of the net.

Wiegman was understandably delighted: "That goal was simply incredible.

The composure, the first and second touch.

It's really nice for her to come on and then score within a minute.

"And the England coach decided to make the young Agyemang her 'wildcard' in the construct-up to Euro 2025.

She should have been heading off to Poland to lead the U19s' attack, but establish herself in her first real gathering with the English first team, with one objective in mind: to acquire a place in the 23-woman squad that will be heading to Switzerland.

A supersub who threatens SpainThe rest is down to her talent.

Restricted to the bench for England's three matches prior to the Euros, Agyemang was the surprise inclusion in Wiegman's squad.

 "She brings something special to the table," clarified the England coach.

"She's only 19, but she's very mature and knows exactly what she has to do.

If she continues like this, she has a very bright future ahead of her.

"After playing just five minutes in the group stages, the striker proved to be the sensation of the Euros, twice saving the holders from elimination: scoring the equaliser against Sweden in the quarter-finals just ten minutes after coming on, and then against Italy in the semi-finals, thirty seconds from the terminate of normal time.

The story would have been even better possessed her swerving shot in the 117th minute of the semi-final not crashed against the crossbar.

But Chloe Kelly's penalty in the 119th minute was enough to send England through to a third consecutive major tournament final.

  "Mich came onto the pitch and made things occur for the team, obtained us support into the game and obtained us support on track," Kelly told a press conference.

"The moment she struck the crossbar offered us new energy.

She was incredible and offered us a lot of confidence.

""I'm not surprised to see her at this level," added Lucy Bronze, the oldest member of the squad, on the subject of the youngest player.

"I remember the first time she came to training and I already knew that this girl was destined to be part of this group.

"She's doing wonders coming off the bench, scoring goals, putting in performances and working hard.

" So much so, in fact, that Wiegman says she is having some difficulty putting together a starting XI, given the performances of the newcomer.

For the time being, the coach prefers to keep Agyemang on the bench, ready to play saviour again.

 "She's very grateful to be getting minutes.

Her growth and development have been very rapid, she moved from not being a starter at Brighton to getting a lot more minutes and showing how good she was, and then she integrated into our team.

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I think she's very comfortable in this role.

" After two goals in her last two games, the number 17 is now ready to play the spoilsport against Spain.

Pursue the 2025 Women's European Championship final here.