Euro 2025: England breaks Italy's heart in extra time to advance to final

GENEVA (AP) — England is living on the brink and survived another near-inevitable elimination all the way to another Women's European Championship final.

The defending champion broke Italy's hearts — twice — in a 2-1 win after extra time in their semifinal on Tuesday.

Chloe Kelly scored the decisive goal in the 119th minute, shooting home the rebound only after Italy goalkeeper Laura Giuliani saved her penalty kick.

Italy was forced into extra time because another substitute, Michelle Agyemang, leveled the game deep into stoppage time.

Kelly and Agyemang also were crucial for England in another great escape in the quarterfinals against Sweden.

England will now defend its title in Sunday’s final in Basel against either world champion Spain or Germany. Their semifinal is Wednesday in Zurich.

“When it finishes like this I am enjoying it but it’s a little bit dramatic,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman, who has never been eliminated from the tournament. She led her native Netherlands to the 2017 title before joining England.

It was all so cruel on unheralded Italy, which had led since Barbara Bonansea’s rasping volleyed shot in the 33rd minute.

"It’s a bitter defeat because we were one minute away from the final," Italy coach Andrea Soncin said in translated comments. “But we have to be proud.”

Either potential opponent is a title rematch for England, having beaten Germany in the Euro 2022 final — also decided by a Kelly goal in extra time — and lost the 2023 World Cup final to Spain.

For the second time in six days, England had stared down what looked a sure exit and survived into extra time.

Italy would have been a worthy winner just for the immense defending of central backs Elena Linari and Cecilia Salvai as England pressed intensely in the second half.

But Agyemang fired in a low shot after Giuliani spilled a cross in a rare handling error. The ball arrowed toward the net cruelly through the legs of both Linari and Giuliani.

After the final whistle blew, Guiliani lay flat out and face down against the turf all alone in the middle of Italy’s half of the field.

The penalty was conceded by substitute Emma Severini for tangling with Beth Mead. Severini had a clear chance in the 86th to lift Italy into a two-goal lead but her close-range shot after a corner was smothered by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.

The defending champion is taking a bumpy road to a second straight title match.

It started with a humbling 2-1 loss to France in the opening game that was Wiegman’s first defeat at a Women’s Euros in her third tournament. It did, however, after routing the Netherlands and Wales by a combined score of 10-1, keep England out of Spain’s half of the knockout bracket.

England then trailed 2-0 to Sweden after 78 minutes of their quarterfinal, and twice in the penalty shootout would have been out had the Swedes not failed with their next spot-kick.

At age 19, Michelle Agyemang is making an incredible start to her England career just a few years after she was a ball girl for the team.

Her third goal in just her fourth national-team game also was her second crucial equalizer in the Euro 2025 knockout rounds.

The Arsenal forward almost won the game before Kelly, but her deft lob in the 117th rebounded off the Italy crossbar.

“I think that gave us a new lease of energy,” Kelly said of Agyemang's impact. “When your forward is doing that, it’s special.”

England defender Jess Carter was not in England’s starting lineup for the first time, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament.

Carter came on for the closing minutes to protect England's lead and got a rousing cheer from fans.

Kelly said victory after the team united behind Carter was “a powerful moment to show this is what we expect.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

England's Chloe Kelly, center, scores her side's second goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

England's Chloe Kelly, right, celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

England's Michelle Agyemang, second right, scores her side's opening goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

England's Michelle Agyemang, right, celebrates with Ella Toone after scoring her side's first goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

England's Alessia Russo attempts a shot at goal past Italy's Elena Linari, right, but fails to score during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Barbara Bonansea, right, scores the opening goal past England's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Italy's Barbara Bonansea scores her side's opening goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Italy's Barbara Bonansea, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

England players celebrate after Michelle Agyemang scored their side's first goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between England and Italy at Stade de Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a familiar spot.

Monday night's wild-card playoff game against Houston was close through three quarters, but Sheldon Rankins’ 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown allowed the Texans and their top-ranked defense to break it open and beat the Steelers 30-6.

“Certainly a disappointing end to our season,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to give Houston a lot of credit, in particular their defensive unit. I thought they ruled the day.”

Tomlin and the Steelers lost their seventh straight playoff game. It’s the longest active postseason losing streak in the league, and Tomlin matched Marvin Lewis of the Bengals for the longest playoff skid by an NFL coach.

The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the 2016 divisional round, and whether Tomlin will be back for a 20th season in Pittsburgh is once again an open question — one that Tomlin declined to address in the aftermath of the loss.

“I’m not in the big-picture perspective,” Tomlin said. “I’m just not in that mindset. I don’t think about the totality of it. You pour everything that you have into these performances and what goes on tonight.”

Pittsburgh lost a scheduled Monday night home game for the first time since Oct. 14, 1991, to the New York Giants. The Steelers were unbeaten in their past 23 such games.

Aaron Rodgers threw for 146 yards and the Steelers were limited to 175 yards of total offense. Calen Bullock scored Houston’s second defensive touchdown of the fourth quarter with a 50-yard pick-6 on what may have been the final throw of Rodgers’ 21-year career. The four-time MVP plans to take time before deciding whether to return for another season.

“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,” Rodgers said. “I’m disappointed. It was such a fun year. Obviously, a lot of adversity, but a lot of fun.”

The Steelers forced Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud into a number of mistakes throughout the first three quarters. Stroud fumbled five times — he lost two of them — and threw an interception, but the Steelers couldn't manage a single touchdown.

Houston led 10-6 when Will Anderson Jr. sacked Rodgers, and Rankins picked up the ball and returned it to the end zone.

“I didn’t feel like we ever got the momentum on our side, honestly,” Rodgers said. “We had a lot of chances. Defense played really good in the first half. (Houston) has a good defense. But we had a lot of opportunities.”

A week earlier, Rodgers threw for a season-high 294 yards and the Steelers rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Baltimore Ravens and win their eighth AFC North title under Tomlin.

On Monday night, the home crowd booed Tomlin and the Steelers off the field, and chants for his firing could be heard in the final minutes.

“I don’t really care about that noise because they don’t know what (Tomlin) puts into this,” veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward said. “They don’t know how he goes out of his way to prepare every man. They don’t know about the countless nights he is in there studying film. Coaches can only do so much. Players have to play better and in those critical moments, they have to step up.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) leaves the field after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reacts after a Houston Texans touchdown during the second half of NFL wild-card playoff football game, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)