Match-winner Chloe Kelly has delivered a powerful and patriotic statement following England’s second consecutive Women’s Euros win in yet another moment of national pride for the Lionesses.
The former Manchester City player, who faced doubts over even being included in the Euro 2025 squad, once again enjoyed the hero moment in the final against a very talented Spain team, firing a rocket of a penalty into the top left corner.
It wasn’t the first time she’s played the role of difference maker either, not only having scored the winner in their last European final against Germany, but scoring the decisive goal in the semis against Italy to book their final spot in first place.
Here’s the moment she almost took the roof of – both metaphorically and quite literally:
Speaking in the immediate aftermath to the BBC, the 27-year-old Arsenal star was clearly full of all the emotions, so much so that she did let a little swear word off, telling a reporter: “When we were down against Sweden and down against Italy, we f***ing showed grit and determination and we came back.”
ADVERTISEMENT
However, not only was she given instant dispensation and forgiveness for the expletive slip-up (she’s just won the Euros for the second time, after all), but this wasn’t even close to the stand-out comment from her post-match interviews.
Kelly went on to say, “I’m so proud to be English”, adding that whatever the circumstances in a major tournament or otherwise, for that matter, “you can’t write us off.”
ADVERTISEMENT
For a country that has regularly wrestled with the muddy line between patriotism and nationalism, especially over the last couple of decades, it came as a breath of fresh air to many of those watching back home.
An unpolitical, simple moment and declaration of something people don’t say as much as they perhaps should.
“For all the sneering from some quarters, that’s just such a wonderful thing to hear. Much more of this, please, in all kinds of arenas.”
It goes without saying that we couldn’t be prouder of the England women’s team, and we can’t lie, we definitely enjoyed Chloe Kelly lapping up the plaudits and proving her haters wrong.
The so-called ‘Queen of Clutch’ now has two different European Championship-winning strikes and her big finish in the Finalissima shoot-out against Brazil.
"The first time was so nice, we had to do it twice." 🏆🏆
Safe to say, the London-born forward has well and truly earned the right to soak up these scenes and enjoy her moment in the spotlight yet again.
It was almost as if she was trying to reel off as many famous phrases and clippable sound bites as possible, telling national media in the post-match press conference: “Thank you to whoever wrote me off, I’m grateful.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Rejoice, England: football came home – you could say it never left.
Featured Images — BBC Sport (screenshots via YouTube)
Sport
Bayern Munich reportedly set to target Phil Foden in the summer transfer window
Danny Jones
European giants Bayern Munich are said to be interested in homegrown Manchester City star, and are interested in signing him this coming transfer window.
And if you believe some of the reports circulating around the Stockport-born footballer, he could very well be looking to leave the Etihad in the summer.
Foden seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour at Man City of late, having been benched in four of the last five games, with his overall minutes having been on a gradual slump over recent months; as a result, some sources are suggesting it’s prompted a potential move away.
As per TEAMtalk, the Bundesliga side is hoping to target the City youth product and England international ahead of next season, with former teammate turned Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany very keen on acquiring his services.
Man City have stepped up efforts to secure Phil Foden's future with talks held during the international break and confidence is now growing that a new deal will be finalised before the end of the season, amid Bayern Munich interest, @TEAMtalk can reveal.https://t.co/ScBP5a3a08
Whether or not having a club and Premier League legend in charge would serve as a sweetener for the attacking midfielder or not, who knows?
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, while the gifted playmaker is said to be “frustrated” with the current situation at Man City, the club are believed to have “stepped up efforts to secure the long-term future of Phil Foden, with fresh talks held during the international break”
Having still managed to chip in with 15 goal contributions so far this campaign – two-thirds of those involvements being goals – the hope is that they can tie him down to a new deal long before the end of the season.
There’s no question about his natural talent and versatility across the forward line; it’s just whether or not he’s happy with his game time under Pep Guardiola, which admittedly has often fluctuated ever since he broke into the first team.
Pep has never made a secret of his love for Phil, either; he’s just not afraid to mix things up and try different things given the squad depth at his disposal and other teams in the division becoming increasingly competitive.
It’s also worth noting that many expect him to be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineups for the Three Lions at this year’s World Cup.
At present, Foden’s contract is set to expire at the end of the next term (2026/27), but it’s rumoured that he could soon commit to staying until 2030 on paper.
Now 25, the once up-and-coming youngster/’rising star’ is now a fully-fledged senior professional and serial winner.
With many years still ahead of him, you could argue that this is the perfect time to take on a new challenge, or equally, stay with his beloved Blues and extend their modern dynasty as one of the more experienced and decorated members of the dressing room.
As for whether Kompany can convince him to swap his familiar surroundings for a fresh chapter in Germany, or whether or not another big Champions League-level outfit monitoring the situation could come sniffing, only time will tell.
For now, let’s just hope he has an incredible few weeks over in North America this June and July.
A free snooker fan zone has popped up in Manchester for the 2026 Tour Championship
Danny Jones
We’re sure plenty of you are well aware that this year’s WST Sportsbet.io Tour Championship is happening in Manchester right now, but what many of you may not know is that a completely free snooker fan zone has opened up as part of it.
You don’t need a ticket for any of the actual matches to watch them on the big screen or even play one of your own.
However, it isn’t just the buzz inside the match room itself that the World Snooker Tour has brought on its return to the city centre – even the supporter hub outside is well worth a visit.
Based over at Manchester Central on the Exchange side of the building, while the games themselves are taking place in the main rooms, the foyer and surrounding areas have been turned into a fan park.
Perfect for anyone looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon or, indeed, a full day this week – not to mention an ideal activity for kids this coming Easter bank holiday weekend – if you’re a fan of the sport, you’d be a fool not to at least pop your head in.
Running until this Sunday, 5 April, when the tournament itself finishes, snooker lovers have access not only to a bar area with multiple big screens and food and drink, but also numerous free tables for them to play on.
In fact, you quickly turn a few frames into some proper practice if you’re so inclined, as there’s even on-site coaching to be made the most of.
As you can see, people of all ages have already turned up in their droves to soak up the atmosphere.
Once again, the competition is being broadcast live and free-to-air on Channel 5 if you’re happy to watch the games at home, but we don’t need to tell you what makes sitting in a room with a bunch of fellow fans and getting excited together so enjoyable.
If you visit the Manchester Central convention centre before the end of the week, you can even have a go at playing on a proper king-sized snooker table for the full pro-feel experience.
For anyone who wants to grab actual tickets for the matches as well, you can find them HERE.
Danny Jones -
28th July 2025 
