Michelle Agyemang reveals England teammate 'I always go to' amid Euro 2025 aim

“Go and change the game,” was the final instruction from Sarina Wiegman as she sent Michelle Agyemang onto the pitch at Stadion Letzigrund for her major tournament debut.

It seems a big ask of a 19-year-old entering a match at 2-0 down with just four minutes of normal time to go.

But for Agyemang, who scored her first England goal just 41 seconds into her international debut, it is all par for the course in her meteoric rise to Lionesses stardom.

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“It’s easy to look at the time and think, ‘There is not enough time left.’ But that’s the beauty of the game sometimes, it only takes 10 seconds to make an impact,” the Arsenal player said.

“Going in to change a game when there’s not much going your way can actually be more beneficial. You just go in, take the game by the scruff of the neck and that’s how I felt the other day. On another day that could have been three points for us.

“To be here is an absolute privilege so I’m grateful for all the opportunities that I’m getting. It’s been a quick turnaround but I’m happy to be here.”

When Agyemang was introduced against Belgium for her debut in April England were trailing 3-1 and desperately needed a goal.

Not even a minute after her entry, Agyemang had controlled the ball with her thigh before turning to fire a sumptuous strike into the top corner to halve the deficit.

It was a similar deficit that faced the Lionesses at her introduction against France on Saturday and while it was Keira Walsh who struck from a corner, Agyemang certainly rattled the French defence with her intense pressing and tenacity in the minutes she spent on the pitch.

“The state of the game to try and go on and make an impact was my main focus at that point, which it is any time I come on the pitch,” she reflected.

“In terms of the way the game was going, we got momentum from that corner. From there the goal was a great finish and we were able to turn that around.”

Many did not even expect the Gunners starlet to feature at the tournament, with Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones having been Wiegman’s pick for an attacking substitute in the warm-up games.

In fact, before her impact in April there seemed more chance of Agyemang spending her summer in Poland at the under-19 European Championships than out in Switzerland.

But come 86 minutes into the game against France, she was ready to come on for 100-cap international Alex Greenwood to prove her selection right.

“All of us on the bench know we can be called upon at any moment. We’ve gone through scenarios of what might be happening when we’re down or chasing the game,” said Agyemang.

“So I was ready, Aggie was ready, all the girls were ready and fortunately it came to me. But it could have been anyone at any time.

“The girls reacted really well as a team. We’ve got two really important games coming up next and just seeing how we were able to reflect on that and turn our focus towards the Netherlands.

“That has been a key lesson for me but also for the rest of the team.”

Having been just 16 years old back in 2022, watching the Lionesses lift the trophy at Wembley on her TV at home, those lessons have had to be learnt fast.

But there are plenty of role models close at hand that can provide such guidance or inspiration to the youngster should she require it.

“The person I always go to is Less [Russo]. The way she plays and the way she trains is so consistent and you see that on the pitch too, she always makes a big impact. That’s something that I strive to do when I get on the pitch,” said Agyemang.

“Coming to training now and looking at LJ. Lauren James is one of the most technically gifted players I’ve ever seen.

“She’s so calm and collected on the ball when she’s under pressure. That’s something I would want to take into my game.”

But mostly, having already been trusted with the duty of gamechanger by Wiegman, Agyemang is looking to carve her own role in a Lionesses side needing to make an impact at Euro 2025.

“I want to be a unique player," she said. "Obviously, there’s things I’ll take from other people but I want to be my own type of player and bring my own input to the game.”