Before July 31, 2022 only the great Sir Geoff Hurst could claim to have scored a goal that won an England senior team a major trophy.
But on that day Chloe Kelly scored the goal that would change her life and finally bring football home.
Off the bench, Kelly found the net from only a few yards out to give the Lionesses a 2-1 victory over Germany in the European Championships. Cue an iconic celebration, bedlam at Wembley and a day that that will live long in the country’s sporting psyche. But, aside from that famous moment, what is Kelly’s story? Let’s take a look…
Chloe Kelly: Her career so far
A west London girl, Kelly first played for QPR, the club she was also a season ticket holder at, before moving on to join Arsenal’s renowned centre of excellence.
Kelly made her debut aged just 17, scoring her maiden senior goal in the same game against Watford.
Although always highly rated by the Gunners, opportunities for the first team were limited.
Kelly was loaned out to Everton, for two seasons, a move that was later made permanent. She would eventually spend four years on Merseyside before leaving in 2020, rejecting a new deal.
Signing a two-year deal with Manchester City in 2020, Kelly would quickly assert herself as a key player at the Academy Stadium.
In her debut season, she scored 16 goals and 14 assists from the position of right wing across all competitions, only to suffer the biggest setback of her career at the end of the campaign.
After scoring twice in a match against Birmingham City, Kelly tore her ACL, a serious injury leaving her facing a lengthy return to fitness.
This ruled Kelly out of that summer’s Olympic tournament. Fortunately, the European Championships, initially set to take place in the summer of 2021 were delayed, a knock-on effect of the pandemic setting back the Tokyo Games.
Managing to recover in time, Kelly was named by new manager Sarina Wiegman in the England squad. Although Lauren Hemp and Beth Mead were Wiegman’s preferred starters on the wing, Kelly was regularly used as an impact player off the bench.
The final would bring the most famous moment of her career – converting from close range following an England corner in the 110th minute of the final against Germany. Kelly's celebration emulated American defender Brandi Chastain’s iconic celebration from the 1999 World Cup final, whipping her shirt off and twirling it round
Kelly would go onto to play an even bigger role for the Lionesses in 2023, following Beth Mead’s own ACL injury. She was the top scorer at the Arnold Clark Cup as England won the tournament, before scoring the winning spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out against Brazil at Wembley in the maiden women’s Finalissima.
The Manchester City star would also play every game at the 2023 World Cup, England again reaching a major final – only to this time come out second best, following the narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain.
2024/25 would prove a more challenging season for Kelly, as she fell out of favour at City, only making six appearances. Open with her frustrations, Kelly took to social media to try and force a loan move.
Subsequently, she re-joined her first club, Arsenal, on loan until the end of the campaign.
