Chloe Kelly's iconic Lionesses goal: The real reason behind the England women's hero passionate, shirtless celebration

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Chloe Kelly has explained that crazed Wembley celebration in extra-time which won England women the Euros

Chloe Kelly's iconic Lionesses goal: The real reason England women's hero celebrated with her shirt off
(Image credit: Getty)

Chloe Kelly's Women's Euro 2022 winner has gone down in history already – and so has the celebration.

The substitute scored her first-ever international goal deep in the second half of extra-time after a goalmouth scramble, reacting instinctively to prod home the ball before whipping her shirt off and celebrating with her teammates.

Comparisons were drawn to US legend, Brandi Chastain, who pulled off a similar celebration in 1999 when she won the World Cup with her nation.

“I see you,” Chastain said to Kelly on Twitter in response. “Well done. Enjoy the free rounds of pints and dinners for the rest of your life from all of England. Cheers!”

But it turns out that actually, the celebration wasn't a nod to Chastain after all. 

Kelly, a huge QPR fan was inspired by another goalscorer: Bobby Zamora.

Aged 16, the England hero watched Zamora score in the final minute against Derby County in 2014 to send QPR to the Premier League. So when Kelly scored the winner at Wembley, she only had one hero in mind. 

“I was here on crutches that day supporting Zamora, and I told my family [before the match] there’s going to be a Bobby Zamora moment today,” she said after the game. 

“And there was. I don’t feel the pressure, honestly, since my injury, I don’t think I fear anything, I just embrace every moment because you never know when that can be taken away from you.”

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.