Esme Morgan: “I always had faith” that England would fight back against Sweden because “it wasn’t our time to go”

When Esme Morgan replaced Jess Carter in the 70th minute of England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 quarter-final on Thursday, she was handed a tough task. She was making her major tournament debut – but the Lionesses were trailing by two goals, and on course to crash out against Sweden.

24-year-old Morgan revealed that “it was really special and apparently my mum was sobbing when I came on! It doesn’t take much to set her off watching the football to be honest, and I think she was crying as well after we won on penalties.”

“I’ve been working hard throughout the tournament just to stay prepared if I was called upon and so I felt really ready when that happened. to be able to make an impact and make a good contribution to the team so I was really excited and then obviously being able to turn it around and get the win in the end was such a joyous moment.”

For much of Thursday’s clash with Sweden, the Lionesses looked to be on the verge of catching an early flight home – but the Sheffield-born star explained that she remained optimistic throughout, talking of “a sense throughout the game even when we were down that it wasn’t our time to go.”

“I was really excited to be able to come on and just kind of have the mindset with Beth [Mead] and Michelle [Agyemang] that we had nothing to lose, [and] just try and make an impact,” the defender explained during a press conference on Saturday.

That mindset paid dividends, and England were able to score twice in quick succession before claiming victory after a dramatic penalty shootout. Morgan, who plays her club football in the NWSL for Washington Spirit, recalled: “Not long after, Chloe [Kelly] came on and served up two brilliant crosses for us to come back. That was just such a thrill and then you’ve got the adrenaline going and when extra time comes, you know you’ve got another 30 minutes of football so you’ve kind of got to re-regulate and bring yourself back down level so you can just focus and carry out your role as best as you can for extra time.”

Morgan could feature again for England when they face Italy on Tuesday, with no update yet provided following captain Leah Williamson’s injury-enforced withdrawal. The Arsenal captain “seemed in very high spirits this morning,” Morgan revealed, “and I want what’s best for the team, and that’s absolutely having our captain on the pitch for us.”

“I’m always content knowing that I’ve given absolutely everything to be in the best position to make an impact and just do whatever role I have to the best of my ability, so my mindset doesn’t change at all. I’m going to prepare in exactly the same way. And obviously, being able to play the other night was such an amazing feeling and it’s given me the confidence to perform should I be called upon again. But obviously that’s not my decision. I’m just going to make sure I’m ready for whatever my role is.”

England’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy gets underway at 20:00 BST [21:00 CEST] on Tuesday 22 July.