When Weekend sits down with Chloe Kelly in late October, it’s 79 days – 1, 914 hours, to be precise – since she scored the goal that secured England’s first victory in a major football tournament for more than half a century. And she is still very much not over it.
“It was just a brilliant moment,” beams the 24-year-old striker, who came off the bench to seal the Lionesses’ 2-1 win over old rivals Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley in July. “I think in years to come, I’ll still be pinching myself, and asking, ‘has this really happened?’”
How often has she watched it back? “I think I watch it every day, to be honest. Sometimes I just look at pictures of the Euros on my phone and think, ‘wow, what a summer that was’. On and off the pitch, we just had a great time. The reaction has been amazing,” adds the supersub, of a tournament that lifted the entire nation’s spirits.
By her own admission, the goal itself was “one of the worst” of the Manchester City winger’s career. “It was literally just a toe punt,” she says of the scrappy kick, 10 minutes before the end of extra time. “I’m reaching anything I could onto that ball. I remember, when we won the corner just before the goal, looking over at the fans and thinking, ‘this is a moment – we can make something happen here’. I’ve seen Hempo [fellow City forward Lauren Hemp] walking towards me, and I said to her, ‘let’s make this count’. And we did just that.
“It was a great delivery from Lauren, and I remember Lucy [Bronze] getting something on it. I was just trying to hold off the defender, and it really put me off balance. I swung a leg at it and absolutely missed it. I thought ‘I’ve just got to get something on this’. And just the toe was all it needed. It was crazy scenes. Now, watching it back, the roar of the crowd gives me goosebumps every time. But in that moment, it was silence for me. All I could hear was myself, questioning if it was a goal.”
As if that wasn’t already enough of a fairytale ending, it had been touch and go whether Chloe would even get to play in the Euros, having spent almost a year out of action with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. It’s like a movie script, I suggest. “It was a really tough 11 months for me,” she admits. “I remember some evenings, during my rehab, where I’d just be like, ‘Have I done enough? Have I got enough playing minutes under my belt to be able to go to the Euros?’ All of those things go through your mind. But you just have to trust the process, and the people around you.”
Arguably as iconic as the goal itself was the celebration that followed, in which Chloe ran across the pitch, helicoptering her shirt above her head. “It was fairly spontaneous and in the moment,” she says. “As soon as I score, you can see I’m about to lift my shirt off. To score the winner against Germany at Wembley – of course it had to be an iconic celebration.”
And her sports bra is now most famous undergarment since Madonna’s… “Yeah, I’d like to think so,” she laughs.
When the final whistle blew, Chloe sank to the pitch, hand over her mouth, in a state of shock. “I just sat on the floor thinking, ‘oh my god, it actually happened’,” she recalls. “And to do it on home soil was even more special, because the fans all got behind us. We definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without those people, supporting us throughout the whole Euros.”
After that, the memorable moments just kept on coming, from Chloe abandoning her post-match BBC interview to join her fellow Lionesses in a full-throated rendition of Sweet Caroline (“That’s definitely my karaoke song now,” she grins) to the team’s impromptu performance of Three Lions while conga-ing through manager Sarina Wiegman’s press conference.
While fans of the men’s game have spent 30 years (of hurt) singing on the terraces about football coming home, the women just got on and did it… “Yeah, to be singing it when it actually has come home was very special,” says Chloe.
No pressure on the lads for the World Cup in Qatar later this month, then… “I’m really excited that the Worlds Cup’s just around the corner,” says Chloe. “I don’t think [our victory] gives them any added pressure. It just shows that it can be done, and England have great talent in both the men and women’s game.”
Tributes to the Lionesses were led by Her Late Majesty The Queen, who called the team “an inspiration”. It’s a message that’s only become more poignant since her death, says Chloe. “Her words will always stick with us. It’s very special to each and every one of us.”
Another royal seal of approval came when, presenting her with her winner’s medal after the game, Prince William told Chloe, “You’re so powerful”. Does she feel powerful? “I definitely do,” she nods. “I think all of us, on the back of the Euros, feel so powerful in what we’ve achieved. But also what we’ve done for women and young girls involved in the sport. I think that’s very powerful.”
The tournament certainly felt like a watershed moment for the women’s game – and Chloe is confident the momentum can be maintained. “Attendances [at club level] have been very good,” she says. “There have been so many sold-out stadiums, which is fantastic. So you can already see a change. But there’s still so far to go.”
Last month, Chloe and the Lionnesses met then-prime minister Liz Truss to impress on her the need to grow the women’s game grassroots level (at present, only 63% of girls have access to football in school PE). “There’s been a lot of movement around that already, which is exciting. But now it’s about keeping our foot on the gas, and pushing forward to make sure everyone has the opportunity to play.”
The youngest of seven siblings – five of them boys – Chloe’s own introduction to the game came from playing with her brothers in the football “cage” on their estate in Hanwell, west London, just a short number 92 bus ride away from Wembley. “It made me the player I am,” she says. “I was always playing with the older boys, and they never made it easy for me. It was very competitive, which always pushed me to the next level.”
Her mum worked in her primary school and her dad is a machine fitter. Both made sacrifices to support their daughter’s footballing ambitions, says Chloe. “My parents don’t drive, so they were always on public transport, getting me to training and games, buying me football boots…. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that commitment, and I’ve always tried to give back to my parents through my performances. My whole family was at Wembley for the final, and to share that moment with all the people who’d helped get me here was really special. As soon as the final whistle went, I went over to my mum. She was in absolute floods of tears.”
Unlike cricket or the arts, football still seems to offer a viable route for talented working class kids. “Definitely,” says Chloe, who lives in Manchester with her boyfriend Scott and their cavapoochon Otis. “You don’t need money – just bring a ball, and everyone can play. On the estate where I grew up, I saw how football brings people from different communities and cultures together.”
Chloe was 17 when she made her professional debut for Arsenal in 2015. A move to Everton saw her become the Toffees’ leading goal scorer, and she pulled on an England senior shirt for the first time against Austria in November 2018. “My senior debut came as a real surprise,” she recalls. “I went away with the team as a training player, then found out the night before the game I was actually in the squad. My dad, who came to all my games, said he wanted to come out and watch, and I was like, ‘no, it’s fine, I’m not gonna get on the pitch’. So when Phil [Neville, manager] told me to start warming up, my first thought was, ‘but my dad’s not here to watch!’”
In July 2020, Chloe signed a two-year deal with Manchester City, and looked to be a shoo-in for the Team GB squad at the Tokyo Olympics. But, hunting for her third goal in the penultimate game of the 2020-21 Women’s Super League season, she was brought down in the penalty box, suffering a devastating ACL injury to her right knee.
The long rehabilitation was, she says, as much a mental as a physical challenge. “I won’t lie, there were so many dark moments. Some days, I just needed a cry. To not be able to do the thing I love – to have that taken away from me – for 11 months, was very difficult. A few months before the Euros, I was in such a dark place.
“But I’m lucky I had such great people around me, to really push me through that; people who made you believe the next day would be better. It was a tough time, and even now, I still feel like I’m getting over my injury, I’m still building.
“But I’m really excited because, as a young player, I feel like I’ve still got so much to do,” she says, eyes clearly already on the next prize – be it the WSL title, or next summer’s World Cup. “Yes, I have that Euros medal. But I’m so hungry to win more.”
Follow Chloe on Instagram (@chloekelly)
This interview was published in Waitrose Weekend on 3 November, 2022
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