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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Chloe Kelly: Penalties don’t scare me ... I knew that I would score

Chloe Kelly says she loves being a player for the clutch moments, after yet another match-winning role for England.

Kelly, who grew up playing cage football in Ealing, thumped home the decisive penalty as the Lionesses beat Nigeria to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

It was the third time in just over a year that the winger has settled a major match for the side.

Kelly scored the winner in the Euro 2022 Final last summer and struck the decisive penalty when England beat Brazil to win the Finalissima in April.

The Manchester City forward was handed England's fifth penalty in yesterday's shoot-out and relishes the pressure.

"Stepping up, I just thought I'm gonna score," said Kelly. "That's the way I look at penalties.

"It's confident, I know, but it's always important when you win that mental battle. I don't think too much about it to be honest, just be ready in the moment. It's just a penalty, me versus the keeper, and stepping up to it is about winning the mental battle. We have been practising (penalties) a lot and it has been working."

Kelly started her run up with a customary hop and a skip before an emphatic finish into the top corner to leave Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie no chance.

"I see Chloe Kelly do that every single day," said defender Alex Greenwood, who also scored her penalty. "That is normal Chloe Kelly… routine, focused. I had no doubt that she'd put the ball away. It's just what she does.

"I think to go down to 10 and show the resilience that we did, and to win on penalties, it shows the character in the team. "Nigeria caused us problems at times and we had to show a different side of us again, which we've done a few times this tournament. I'm really proud of the team."

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