England beat Brazil on penalties to win Women's Finalissima

England's players pose with trophy as they celebrate on the pitch after their victory in the Finalissima International football match against Brazil at Wembley Stadium in London on April 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 07 April 2023
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England beat Brazil on penalties to win Women's Finalissima

  • Chloe Kelly scoring England’s decisive spot-kick after a 1-1 draw

LONDON: England beat Brazil 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout to win the first-ever Women's Finalissima at Wembley on Thursday, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the decisive spot-kick after a 1-1 draw.
Sarina Wiegman's European champions were on course for a narrow win after taking the lead in a first half they dominated through a well-worked team goal finished off by Ella Toone.
But Copa America Femenina winners Brazil were transformed after the break and threatened to spoil the party when Andressa Alves fired home from close range in the 93rd minute.
With no extra time, the game went straight to penalties.
Georgia Stanway, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood scored from the spot to put England 3-1 ahead.
Kerolin kept the contest alive but Kelly -- who scored the winning goal in the European Championship final at Wembley last year -- slotted home coolly to seal the win.
Wiegman said her team, preparing for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which starts in July, had not had much chance to practise penalties.
"We practised yesterday and before the Euros we practised a lot," she said. "We just repeated it yesterday in case. We knew what to do and we did good."
The Dutch coach -- yet to taste defeat as England boss -- said she felt "privileged" to reach 30 games unbeaten.
"I'm very happy working here," she said. "Such an incredible group. The team is so committed, they want to learn every day."
England secured their place in the showpiece match by beating Germany 2-1 in the Euro 2022 final last year while Brazil beat Colombia 1-0 to win their eighth Copa America Femenina title.
The crowd of more than 83,000 and the players took part in a minute's applause to remember Brazil great Pele, who died in December, before kick-off.

England started strongly, playing with swagger and assurance and limiting the visitors, without injured record scorer Marta, to occasional breaks.
Lucy Bronze stung the hands of goalkeeper Leticia from distance and at the other end Jess Carter made a crucial block to deny the lively Geyse.
England got the reward they deserved in the 23rd minute when Manchester United forward Toone finished a flowing move down the right, connecting sweetly with a cross from Bronze.
The home fans thought England had doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark but Lauren James' strike was ruled out for offside.
Brazil coach Pia Sundhage brought on Andressa and Adriana for Lauren and Beatriz Zaneratto and the changes had an immediate impact.
Kerolin went close with a strike from distance that drifted wide of Mary Earps' goal.
Earps then produced an outstanding save, pushing the ball onto the top of the crossbar shortly before the hour to deny Geyse.
England eventually regained a measure of control, but suffered the shock of conceding a late equaliser when Earps failed to hold on to a cross and Andressa fired home.
But England regrouped and stayed calm to win the shootout, sending the crowd wild.


Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

Updated 20 December 2025
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Ravaglia heroics lead Bologna to Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh

  • Despite falling behind early, Bologna equalized in the 34th minute before prevailing on penalties

RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second 2025/26 Italian Super Cup semi-final. The travelling Inter support brought their drums, colour and constant noise, blending with Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.

The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting an accurate cross from Alessandro Bastoni to score the opening goal of the night.

Inter immediately searched for a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute, feinting past Torbjorn Heggem before dragging his effort just wide of the post.

After Inter’s early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest, with Jens Odgaard leading much of the offence. Goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s advantage.

The energy among Inter supporters continued to build, with fans jumping in unison and lifting their scarves as they urged their side forward in search of a second goal.

That momentum was checked in the 34th minute, when a VAR review resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini slotted the spot-kick coolly past Martinez to bring I Rossoblu back level.

Inter pushed forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.

Hope briefly returned for the Nerazzurri when Bonny was brought down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the initial appeal for a penalty to be overturned following consultation with VAR.

Less than 10 minutes later, the stadium rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi in a triple substitution, Lautaro made an immediate impact but was unable to find the decisive goal before the end of regular time.

Bologna came within moments of snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save, sending the semi-final into a penalty shootout.

The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their penalties before goalkeepers intervened at either end. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to mirror the miss moments later.

Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia made his second save of the shootout, before Jonathan Rowe gave Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted to extend the contest, but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to send Bologna through.

The Rossoblu will now face Napoli in the Italian Super Cup final at Al-Awwal Park on December 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the first semi-final.