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“It’s easy to look at the time and think there’s not enough left,” says England wildcard Michelle Agyemang. “That’s the beauty of the game. It only takes 10 seconds to make an impact. Any time is good enough for me so I’m grateful for that opportunity.” The 19-year-old forward is true to her word – it took her only 41 seconds to score on her England debut, reducing the deficit against Belgium from 3-1 to 3-2 in April. On Saturday, she was given four minutes of normal time against France to make a difference. She made an impact but, despite a battling final 10 minutes, the Lionesses couldn’t salvage a point.
“There’s fire in the belly,” says Agyemang of the mood in camp since that opening-game defeat put their European title defence in jeopardy. “You can see that everyone’s willing to go and get the result that we need in the next game. It’s been the same goal from day one. We still want to win the tournament and that one result doesn’t necessarily change anything. There’s still something that we’re going after, which is the trophy. The Netherlands game is a stepping stone in our way and we want to get past that and get towards the trophy.”
It’s a big stepping stone – the Netherlands are a formidable force. The 2017 champions boast a stellar lineup, many of who are familiar to Agyemang, with Victoria Pelova and Daphne van Domselaar at Arsenal with her and Daniëlle van de Donk, Jill Roord, Dominique Janssen and Vivianne Miedema former Gunners. “We know that they have quality but we do as well,” says Agyemang. “We believe in ourselves that we can go and get the job done. We know that we have a big game ahead of us. We have what we need so we just need to go and execute the way we know we can and then we’ll get what we deserve.”
Agyemang is almost unnervingly confident for someone so young. On the pitch her persona is different. “She’s a really sweet girl,” says Lucy Bronze. “She’s so sweet and unassuming as a person but then on the pitch she’s probably one of my favourite ones to play against because I can just run into her dead hard. She likes to give it back. She’s been told that she needs to go a little bit easier but I said: ‘No, just keep it up Micha, I prefer it, I want you to give everything, it makes it harder for us.’”
Agyemang laughs when Bronze’s comments are relayed to her. “It’s an interesting one because we did have that conversation, me and Sarina,” she says. “I’ve been working on that in training and I think I’ve improved but Lucy was saying she thinks it’s a super-strength of mine. I know Lucy is physical as well, so we like going at it in training and it’s fun to have that type of opponent and then you can reflect it in the game. I like it and she likes it as well.”
Sitting surrounded by a large group of the English media, Agyemang has had to adapt quickly to her rising profile. Three years ago she was a ball girl at Wembley for England’s 4-0 win against Northern Ireland and now she is at her first major tournament. For some time, her talents have been talked about, both in the England youth ranks and at Arsenal. Handling the hype and the pressure that comes with it is taken somewhat in her stride.
“When I was younger I didn’t really like the cameras and stuff like that but I think it’s a part of the game and the way the women’s game is growing – you will have to speak,” she says. “You can’t hide from the cameras. I’m working on it.
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“For me, in terms of pressure, I think most of the pressure comes from myself. I don’t try to listen to the noise. I appreciate the support from everyone. I think focusing on what I can do is most important, and then the noise will come around no matter what happens. I just focus on how I can improve my game and how I can help the team is my most important thing.”
Where can she improve her game? “That’s a good question,” she says, pausing for thought. “Getting that consistency. When I get on the pitch, being able to be as effective in minute one, even if that’s the last minute of the game, or if I’m starting, getting that consistency from minute one to 90. Just being able to affect the game from minute one to the end.”
Has she planned a celebration for her first major tournament goal? “No,” she says. “I always used to find it quite embarrassing. When I did celebrate I’d always look back and think it was really cringe. So I refrain from celebrating. If it comes out, if it comes out. It’s not pre-planned at all.”
