Women’s Euros the gift that keeps on giving

Opinion

Both semi-finals at the 2025 Women’s European Championship went into extra time. Two matches required penalties in the quarterfinal round.

That’s two thirds of the knockout games going past the 90 minutes.

At no point was it tedious. Quite the contrary, in fact.

This Euro, set to finish Sunday in Basel, Switzerland (11 a.m., TSN), has been compelling from the very first kick, the sort of event where looking away — even for a moment — invites the risk of missing something important.

Thought England and Italy were bound for a shoot-out on Tuesday? Hopefully you didn’t go to the kitchen or check your phone, because Chloe Kelly knew that the 119th minute was still within the 120.

Quite incredibly, it looked as though Italy was headed to a first tournament final, only to concede to Michelle Agyemang in the sixth minute of stoppage time. It was the 19-year-old’s second heroic moment in five days, the first coming in the form of an 81st-minute equalizer against Sweden.

Her surname means “saviour of the nation,” which might be the most poetic thing in a competition that’s written more than a few stanzas.

Having gone on to beat the Swedes on penalties and then the Italians with mere seconds left on the referee’s watch, the Lionesses are back where they were three years ago: in a continental final.

They beat Germany that night at Wembley to win their first major trophy. Thirteen months later they came close to winning a second, only to collide with Spain — the sport’s latest superpower and Sunday’s other finalist.

Loaded with star players and brimming with the confidence of a world champion, Spain beat their group stage rivals (Belgium, Italy and Portugal) by a combined score of 14-3. Esther González scored in all three matches, and resurgent former Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas tallied in two.

After seeing off Switzerland in the quarterfinals, they had to suffer through extra time against Germany and even looked to be flagging late on.

That’s when the world’s top footballer finally came good.

Latching onto Athenea del Castillo’s pass after Ona Batlle had done well to win the ball on the right-hand side, Aitana Bonmatí split the German defence before beating goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger from what seemed an impossible angle.

Few players would have even attempted such an audacious shot, but the reigning two-time Ballon d’Or winner is not just any player. And as if her 113th-minute winner wasn’t impressive enough in its own right, it was all the more meaningful given her recent hospitalization with viral meningitis.

Discharged mere days before the tournament began, she was nearly left off the national team and started the first two matches on the bench.

In that context, it’s remarkable that La Roja were able to so easily dispatch their opponents without the full contribution of their best player. But now, as she rounds into form at exactly the right time, Spain can finally deploy the one-two punch of Bonmatí and Putellas that’s deprived them since the latter sustained a serious knee injury ahead of Euro 2022.

It’s a combo that’ll have England boss Sarina Wiegman deliberating over her line-up into Sunday morning.

That Spanish midfield, which also includes the superb Patricia Guijarro (she, Bonmatí and Putellas are club teammates at Barcelona) will inevitably control the centre of the park. To avoid being completely overrun, which they were against France, the Lionesses could well sacrifice Lauren James in favour of Grace Clinton.

England has shown they can outlast the opposition, suffering through the balance of a match before striking quick with Kelly or Agyemang. It’ll likely be their approach on Sunday.

Which means the European Championship final could well extend beyond the 90 minutes.

Here’s hoping it does. Because the only way this tournament can get better is by having even more of it.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

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