England manager Sarina Wiegman faces a number of questions ahead of the European Championship final on Sunday, with the main one being what to do with Michelle Agyemang
More than half of Michelle Agyemang’s senior minutes for England have come in extra-time, but the teenage sensation has given Sarina Wiegman plenty to chew on. Wiegman has a starting XI to pick for Sunday’s Euro 2025 final, and Agyemang couldn’t have done much more to make her case.
After scoring on her Lionesses debut earlier in the year, Agyemang was the wildcard in the senior squad for the Euros. She was eligible to join up with the Under-19s for their own Euros campaign, but the idea of her being anywere other than the senior squad hardly bears thinking about.
Against France, we saw glimpses of why the 19-year-old is in Switzerland this summer. She caused chaos in her five minutes on the pitch, playing her part as Keira Walsh halved the deficit and coming close to an equaliser herself.
The best was yet to come, though. Agyemang came off the bench to equalise in the quarter-final against Sweden before England prevailed on penalties, and kept the coolest head of everyone in Stade de Geneve on Tuesday night to pull England back from the brink against Italy.
“She feels inevitable right now,” Leah Williamson said of her team-mate. “I think she’s quality. I think what she brings, she’s a nightmare to play against.
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“I’m glad she’s my teammate at club and country. She deserves her flowers. I hope she gets them. hope she enjoys tonight, and then I hope she’s ready to go at the weekend.”
The big question now is whether Agyemang starts on Sunday. By throwing her in from the start, you lose the game-changing ability from the bench, but after the late drama of the quarters and semis it might be time for England to try the novel concept of leading in a knockout game for more than a couple of minutes.
No matter who you speak to in the England squad, you’ll get the same answer when it comes to Agyemang. “I’m so proud of her, she’s such an incredible human being and she deserves these moments,” Esme Morgan – another player to make a major tournament debut in Switzerland – said of her team-mate.
Wiegman has spoken about Agyemang’s bright future, but for now it’s hard to look beyond her present. “She has something special,” the England boss said.
“She’s only 19 years old, she’s very mature, she knows exactly what she has to do. When you talk about little things that she picks up straight away, because she’s not only in the 18-yard box very dangerous but when we have to go to her as a target player, she keeps the ball really well too.
“Even when you saw her shot hit the crossbar, that was not just a shot, she was aiming for it. If she continues like this she has a very bright future”
England’s hand could yet be forced by the fitness of certain players. Lauren James was forced off injured at the break against Italy, while Lauren Hemp has put a huge number of minutes in her legs after only recently recovering from a long-term injury.
Agyemang’s performances have come with England chasing the game, with Wiegman going all-out and throwing extra attacking players into the fold. It may be that a two-up-top approach ends up being the best bet from the start on Sunday, in which case it’s hard to look past the Lionesses’ new superstar-in-waiting.
Wiegman has made it clear with her selections that she doesn’t like changing a winning formula, with nine players starting every single game of the tournament so far. After Agyemang’s performance on Tuesday, though, the manager might have been left with no choice.
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