England wildcard ready to take on Arsenal icons in Lionesses must-win Euro 2025 match

Michelle Agyemang was watching on TV at home when England won Euro 2022, but now has the chance to rescue the Lionesses’ campaign - with some familiar faces standing in the way. The teenage forward had the chance to watch the likes of Vivianne Miedema, Victoria Pelova and Danielle van de Donk close up while rising through the Arsenal academy and making her way into the senior squad.

Now she has the chance to go up against that trio in a must-win Euros game against the Netherlands, after impressing during her late cameo in Saturday’s defeat to France. “Obviously we know the Netherlands have great players like Viv, Vic Pelova, Van de Donk was at Arsenal at one point as well,” Agyemang said. “So you know that they have quality but we do as well, so we believe in ourselves that we can go and get the job done.”

When asked if beating those players on Wednesday would make the result even sweeter, she kept her cards close to her chest. “No matter who it is, it would be great to get a result, because we do need it,” she added.

As well as those former Arsenal stars, there’s a current Gunner who has left a real mark on Agyemang in the form of Alessia Russo - someone who she now considers a good friend. “The person I always go to is Less,” she said when asked who she turns to for inspiration.

“She’s so consistent in the way she plays the way she trains, and you see it on the pitch as well. She makes a big impact in the game and that’s obviously something that I strive to do whenever I get onto the pitch.”

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The youngster got her first tournament minutes of any kind on Saturday, with a four-minute run-out from the bench. She made quite the impact, though, causing problems for the French back-line as England came close to coming back from a two-goal deficit.

"It's easy to look at the time and think there's not enough time left," she said. "That's the beauty of the game. It only takes 10 seconds to make an impact. Any time is good enough for me so I'm grateful for that opportunity."

England boss Sarina Wiegman has decisions to make when it comes to her starting line-up against the Netherlands. Lauren James started brightly in her first start since returning from injury but only played an hour, while some of England's substitutes caught the eye in the closing stages.

James is another player who Agyemang really admires. "Coming into training now, looking at LJ, she is one of the most technically gifted players I have ever seen," she said.

"She is so calm and collected on the ball. You can see that whether she is in front of goal or under pressure, she knows what she is doing. That's something I want to take into my game and be consistent at."

Agyemang is the youngest member of the squad, and it may have been her unpredictability which allowed her to leave the French defence guessing. At the other end of the scale, other players of her inexperience might freeze on the big stage, but she has shown no signs of thar fear.

“I think going into any game, most players will say they get nervous and I do feel that sometimes. But I think when you’re going in to change a game when there’s not much going your way, can actually be more beneficial," she added.

"You can just go and take the game by the scruff of the neck. That’s how I felt the other day and on another day, it could have been three points for us.”

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