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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Courtney Pochin

England's Chloe Kelly's annual two-hour Wembley trips as kid - but she couldn't go to matches

The nation went wild as Lioness Chloe Kelly's strike hit the back of the net in extra time during Sunday's Euro Cup Final match against Germany.

The 24-year-old Manchester City player came on as a sub and helped take England to victory at Wembley Stadium in the 110th minute - securing the Lionesses' first major tournament win.

Following her goal, Kelly whipped off her shirt, waving it around and running about in a sports bra as a nod to sporting icon, 1999 United States World Cup winner Brandi Chastain, who celebrated in the exact same way more than 20 years ago.

It was remarkable to watch Kelly at Wembley, a place that is heavily linked to her childhood, as she made annual trips to the stadium on the bus, but not for the reason you may think.

Prince William embraces Chloe Kelly after England's win (Getty Images)

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Kelly, who is the youngest of seven siblings, grew up playing football with her five older brothers near their home in Ealing.

The siblings often played on a caged gravel pitch on the Windmill Park Estate and their little sister joined in as soon as she was allowed, from around the age of seven.

They also liked to play in the street by their house between two bumps, with Kelly telling BBC Sport in 2019 that her brothers didn't go easy on her when it came to football.

She said: "If they had made it easy, then I probably wouldn't be here.

"Where I lived we had two bumps in the road so we'd play 'bump to bump' football. We made what we could of it. It was basically street football without any rules. I think I'm quite a skilful player and I got that from playing street football."

As she got older, she started an annual football tradition, taking the 92 bus from Ealing to Wembley stadium each year on the FA Cup Final day.

However, she didn't go to Wembley to watch the match as you might expect, instead, she simply went to get herself a programme to read.

She would then get back on the bus to return home and watch the match - a journey that was almost an hour each way.

Her celebration was iconic (REUTERS)
She helped secure victory for the Lionesses (Getty Images)

Kelly was scouted during a school match by QPR and later went on to join Arsenal's Centre for Excellence.

She is said to have travelled two-hour round trips on the train in order to attend training.

And her dedication paid off as she made her debut as a professional footballer for Arsenal in 2015, aged just 17.

A year later, she went to Everton on loan and then decided to switch teams and made a proper jump there.

She suffered a setback after an ankle injury in 2018 meant she had to have surgery in 2019, but she refused to let that stop her - going on to become Everton's top goalscorer in the 2019/20 season following her recovery.

Another injury threatened to derail her career after she moved to Manchester City in 2020.

She'd scored 10 goals in her first 20 games with the team and was voted the Player of the Season at the end of 2021/22 by fans, but then disaster struck.

Kelly suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury and was forced to sit on the sidelines until the latter stages of the following season, missing out on many games as well as the Olympics in Tokyo.

Chloe's overcome so much to get where she is today (Getty Images)

The injury could have also put her Euro spot in jeopardy but she proved she's a force to be reckoned with and only came back better than ever - leading her to be picked for Sarina Wiegman's England squad and thank god she was.

She came on as a sub in several matches throughout the summer competition, being branded a "game-changer" by fans.

Her winning goal during the final is thought to be the first she's scored for her country. And what a goal it was, one for the history books!

Speaking after the England v Germany match, Kelly recalled how she knew she'd refused to let her injuries get the better of her as she knew she was destined for greatness and shared how her dreams had come true.

She said: "Thank you for everyone who played a part in my rehab. I always believed I’d be here, but to be here and score the winner, wow.

"It’s amazing, thank you, everyone, this is what dreams are made of. Wow, this is unbelievable.

"Oh my God, look at them all. It is amazing, thank you to every single person that supported us. This is unreal… 'Sweet Caroline'!"

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