English grit beats Spanish skill to secure Euro glory

BASEL, Switzerland :England were on the ropes often at the Women's Euros, and they always found a knockout blow, before beating Spain in a final penalty shootout to show that skill may be a way to dominate games, but it takes the heart of a lioness to win them. 

Chloe Kelly was the hero, firing in the spot-kick to ensure the defending champions retained their crown, but every English player had to dig deep to thwart a Spanish side who were best everywhere except on the final scoreboard. 

Down 2-0 at the break, England's tournament almost ended in the quarter-finals as Sweden looked set to cruise through, but Kelly and Michelle Agyemang dragged the champions back into the game with late goals before they won the penalty shootout despite having four kicks saved. 

They made heavy weather of Italy in the semis and again Kelly came to the rescue, scoring a 119th-minute winner to send them into the final despite another flawed performance. 

In contrast, Spain cruised, purring like the engine of one of the many sports cars that can be seen zipping along city streets in the more affluent parts of Switzerland. They beat the host nation, and eased past Germany in the semis to make the final. 

They met England in the 2023 World Cup final when a first-half goal set Spain on course for victory and their first major title. The story was almost a carbon copy on Sunday as they took the lead through Mariona Caldentey in the 25th minute. 

Led by playmaker Aitan Bonmati, the Spaniards sensed a weakness on England's left flank and probed it relentlessly until Ona Batlle came up with the cross for Caldentey to score.

KELLY INTRODUCTION 

The introduction of Kelly before the break for the injured Lauren James strengthened that wing, and when Kelly set