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Ian Wright’s reaction to the Lionesses’ late equaliser against Italy had fans in awe of the legendary striker. The ex-Arsenal hero was part of ITV’s coverage of England's Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy on Tuesday. Wright’s passion for the women’s game has never wavered and it was evident once again as the Lionesses booked their place in a second successive final. Sarina Wiegman’s side were staring at an agonising exit after Barbara Bonansea had fired the Italians in front in the first half. But Michelle Agyemang’s equaliser six minutes into added time took the match into extra time, sending Wright and thousands of England fans into a frenzy. Footage showed Wright alongside broadcast colleague Karen Carney and Laura Woods at the moment Agyemang’s effort hit the back of the net. And like all England fans, Wright let out all his emotion in one go, clenching his fists and throwing his arms in the air as the Lionesses reignited their hopes of back-to-back European Championship glory. It got even better for Wright and co deep into extra time when Chloe Kelly buried a rebound after her initial penalty was superbly saved by Italian shot-stopper Laura Giuliani. Kelly’s effort was enough to send England into the final where they will take on either Germany or Spain in Sunday’s final. While fans flocked to social media to praise the Lionesses, there was also plenty of love reserved for Wright. One fan wrote: “Oh I love you Wrighty. ” A second fan noted: “Got to love Ian Wright's passion for all of football, men’s or women’s he just loves the game. ” A third fan added: “Wrighty is England through and through. ” Another wrote: “God bless Wrighty. ” A final fan added: “I just love him. He lives and breathes women's football. A fantastic ambassador for the game. ” While he couldn’t hide his delight at the Lionesses reaching another final, Wright is concerned that Wiegman’s side have relied on producing miraculous comebacks. England have clawed themselves back into contention in their knockout clashes against both Sweden and Italy after falling behind and Wright says England must start matches stronger than they have so far this tournament. "You can't continue to rely on that, " Wright said. "Six semi-finals, three finals on the spin. At some stage, the luck will run out. We need to start better and get a foothold in the game. "The thing is, if it's Germany, very physical and direct, it won't suit us. Spain, they play a more technical game, it might suit us more. I'm not sure about Plan A and Plan B, we're in a final. "But we need to start games better. We take too long to start games, we need to get into that, how we can get into our stride quicker. " Meanwhile, Wiegman admitted an air of relief after another tense clash in Switzerland.   "We had some serious challenges in this game, " she said. "We had the ball more, but we didn't create. Second half we did better, but they defended well. They had a lot of blocks, really aggressive, winning lots of duels. Even more happy to be in the final. "I think, of course, we did better in the second half, we always have the opportunity to have fresh players again, more opportunities, more players up front, it was a war, to get hold of the ball, they just did very well. "Yes, she (Kelly) thrives in these moments, excited when she comes in. It's the third time she (Agyemang) scores a goal, that ball on the crossbar, a very good action, what a talent. "We've seen so many different things now, we never give up, we can win by any means, we were a bit lucky against Sweden. We're going for that goal, but we take risks, this team keeps going and never gives up. " © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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