Chloe Kelly: The Movie?

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·19 luglio 2025

Chloe Kelly: The Movie?

Three years ago, like so many of her peers, Chloe Kelly became a household name. Scoring the winning goal in a European Championship Final on home soil will likely never be topped. Every member of that Lionesses squad became immortal that afternoon at Wembley. Even if they achieved nothing else in their careers, they would forever be remembered as the group who helped grow women’s football in England and inspired a generation of girls to dream.

Yet what Kelly did on Thursday night in Switzerland might just mean even more to her on a personal level.

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On the pitch, the 27-year-old has been an excellent impact substitute for years. For both club and country, competition for places is fierce, but she has long bought into the idea that the bench can win you a game. When Sarina Wiegman made a triple substitution, tactical notes were passed to the senior players. Leah Williamson casually read one of them and tucked it into her sock, as if the captain had the secret to overturning Sweden’s lead.

If that note read, “Just give the ball to Kelly”, then it was prophetic. One of our Gunneresses was reading her manager’s instructions on the 79th minute with England trailing 2-0. Three minutes later, it was 2-2. Twice in that time, Kelly delivered pinpoint crosses that gave her nation the final-third quality they had been lacking.

The truth is, she has been doing exactly that since returning to Arsenal in January. Even if her return had never been made permanent, she had already said she would always be grateful to the Gunners for making her smile again.

Arsenal gave her more than minutes – they gave her herself back

It is no exaggeration to say that without her loan move to North London, Chloe Kelly might not even be in Switzerland this week. And not just because Sarina Wiegman needed her to get more minutes, it was deeper than that. Kelly has not gone into full detail about her time at Manchester City, but she has made it clear that she was ready to step away from the game altogether. Her mental health was being affected, and football no longer felt like home.

At the start of 2025, the idea of retaining the Euros seemed a distant dream for a player who simply wanted to feel happy again. Most of all, she wanted to feel wanted. It was the club where she had spent her teenage years, Arsenal, that reached out and welcomed her back. Ending that return with Champions League glory would have been the fairy tale ending, but Kelly’s personality truly lit up again against Sweden.

Chloe Kelly (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

Penalty pressure reveals true strength

The penalty shoot-out may have been chaotic (and perhaps worrying for the rest of the tournament), but one moment stood out: England’s fifth spot kick. Kelly had just watched three of her teammates see their penalties saved. She knew she had to score just to keep her country in it.

This is where adversity shaped her response. Anyone who has battled depression will understand that it can make everything else feel trivial. True character is shown not when life is going well, but when you’re climbing back from rock bottom.

Taking part in a high-pressure shoot-out becomes a privilege, not a burden, when you’ve been in that kind of darkness. That’s why Kelly smiled at Swedish keeper Jennifer Falk, who theatrically read something from her bottle before the attempt. The message was clear — Falk wanted Kelly to know she had done her research. Would it make the winger change her mind?

Of course not. Kelly, laid-back and composed, struck the cleanest penalty of the night. While others faltered, she delivered. There was a knowing glance back at the keeper she had just sent the wrong way, though she couldn’t celebrate fully — England’s fate still depended on Sweden’s fifth kick.

Perhaps Falk got carried away after her earlier saves, as she stepped up to take that deciding penalty herself. It was a move that backfired. It looks clever when it works, but a goalkeeper taking a penalty before your forwards? That raised eyebrows.

England will need to play better if they are to bring the trophy home. But whatever happens next, Chloe Kelly returns with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. She has reconnected with her first love — football. She’s mentally strong, emotionally grounded, and excited about what comes next.

And that, more than anything else, is what matters most.

Make the girl a movie!

Dan Smith

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