To understand Chloe Kelly’s year and the series of game-turning inventions that led to the historic successes in Lisbon and Basel, you have to go back to her bathroom floor in Liverpool and the toughest period of her life. Kelly could not get up from it, sick with anxiety and struggling with panic attacks, crushed by the feeling of not being in control of her own future. It was January 2025, a few months before the Euros, and Kelly was desperate to move away from Manchester City and to get more minutes on the pitch. Not just that, she needed to take charge again.
Even at her lowest, she knew the determination and talent were still there; what was missing was a sense of purpose and the joy she first felt dribbling a ball when growing up in the five-a-side street cages of west London. A journey that began by trekking across the city after school with Lotte Wubben-Moy to get to Arsenal’s academy, taking the underground, a train, a bus and finally a walk over the M25, was in danger of fizzling out as the hours ticked towards the transfer deadline. She felt as if the door to getting out was closing. At the age of 27, she was prepared to walk away and quit.
But, clearly, that was not Chloe Kelly’s year, not after a summer that was shaped by how both she and the Lionesses refused to bend or break but then rose above everything in their way.
To mark International Women’s Day, Kelly has been named top of The Independent’s influence list, in recognition of the role she played in England’s Euro 2025 triumph. The Lionesses successfully defended their European crown and became the first senior England side, men’s or women’s, to win a major tournament on foreign soil.
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Under the fiercest pressure, Kelly stayed calm and composed to score the winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final against Spain (Getty)
“It’s not the action, it’s the reaction,” Kelly said during the rollercoaster of England’s run. The match-winner in the transformative Euro 2022 final at Wembley three years before, Kelly was reborn from the resilience and strength she had shown when all had appeared lost. By the end, her growth and England’s survival in Switzerland came to mirror each other.
“My journey and taking control of my own destiny, writing your own script, was really important,” Kelly tells The Independent. Shehas a powerful sense of what her message is and what it represents: that speaking up when feeling down can be the first step towards turning a story around.
For Kelly, it was posting where she stood and where she was coming from. Her situation at City, she told her millions of followers on Instagram, was having “a huge impact on not only my career but my mental wellbeing” – it was not necessarily a cry for help, but a vow to not suffer in silence. “The world’s full of social media where you see great things all the time, but sometimes you have to see the realness,” she says. “I’m proud I did do that, because I don’t think I’d be in the position I am in without it.”
It led to her deadline day return to Arsenal, initially on loan, as well as a reframing of her season. At Arsenal, she told her new coach, Renee Slegers, that she wanted to enjoy her football again. At the Lionesses, Sarina Wiegman took the pressure off trying to make her Euros squad away by letting her know she had time. Outside of her close bubble of family and friends, there was understanding, too. “It’s important, especially for young girls, to see that not everything is bright and daisy, not everything is about winning,” Kelly says. “Sometimes it’s the dark moments that get you to those winning moments.”
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Not that it was immediately clear how dark those moments were. Kelly recently told Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast that her hair was falling out due to the stress of her situation at Manchester City, and that she was conscious of covering the patches during her first few games at Arsenal. But after settling back into a familiar environment, the smile returned, and Kelly started to put things together piece by piece. A starring role in Arsenal’s comeback against Real Madrid was followed by the full-circle moment of helping the Gunners become European champions again in Lisbon, following the example of her idols Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankey from 18 years before.
Kelly became a European champion at both club and country months after considering quitting the game (Getty)
‘Sometimes it’s the dark moments that get you to those winning moments’ (Getty)
And then there was the Euros – “the most chaotic tournament ever”, as Wiegman famously said. “Going down, it didn’t phase us,” adds the super-sub whose arrival off the bench would signal a shift in mentality from the Lionesses and bring a change-changing moment. There were two assists to rescue England against Sweden, and another crucial penalty in that quarter-final shoot-out. Coming on again against Italy, Kelly scored the winner at the end of extra time. Then, in the final and another shoot-out, the ball was again placed in Kelly’s hands. And yet it is in those moments, where time stands still, that Kelly thrives the most.
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But for confidence to be declared unbreakable, it needs to be tested. Kelly’s was. At the Euros, other moments would become just as iconic because of how she responded; to standing on the touchline until the 78th minute against Sweden, as England trailed in the quarter-finals; to putting a last-minute corner into the side-netting against Italy, as the Lionesses desperately chased an equaliser; to missing three penalties in training on the day before the Euros final, knowing she was still going to be given the fifth if it went to the shootout.
These were also the moments that made Kelly’s year, as they gave her the opportunity to show that what comes next is always what matters. “The action is always the one you think about, but the reaction is what makes the story even better. I think that does shape the whole of 2025 for me,” Kelly says. “You have to ride the wave at times, and speak out, and be proud of speaking out too. Hopefully, it inspired many women and young girls this year to achieve great things. For me, it’s just being real.”
Read The Independent’s influence list for International Women’s Day 2026 here.
Reigning champion Luke Littler moves into the quarter-finals of the UK Open with a comfortable 10-5 win over Gary Anderson, while Luke Humphries is beaten 10-6 by Danny Noppert.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was seething after being given a yellow card in the Newcastle win that rules him out for two games
Pep Guardiola has earned a two-match ban after a sixth yellow card of the season – but it will NOT apply for the Carabao Cup final. The Manchester City manager will be free to be in the dugout at Wembley because the suspension only applies to Premier League and FA Cup games.
That means Guardiola will be forced to watch from the stands for the Premier League match at West Ham next Saturday, as well as the FA Cup quarter-final in the first weekend of April. The draw for that will take place on Monday, with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool having already booked their place in the last eight.
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However, to City’s relief Guardiola will not be banned for the Carabao Cup final with Arsenal despite that taking place before the FA Cup game.
Guardiola joked that he would go on holiday for the games he is not allowed to be in the dugout for after raging again at Newcastle in City’s 3-1 win in the FA Cup. The Blues boss was furious with referee Sam Barrott in the Premier League defeat at St James’ Park in November and this time lost his temper after Jeremy Doku was denied a foul in the second half of the game.
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“When Jeremy Doku dribbles past (Kieran) Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled form behind, I’m not asking for a yellow card but please – it’s a foul,” he said. “I will defend my team. We have all the records in this country -all of them. Despite everything, we have all of them. And we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I have always wanted this record and now I have it. Two game banned now and I will go on holidays.”
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As the next question started, Guardiola continued: “Oh my god. Oh. My. God. There are things that still after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action, review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku, and all my teams. They continue to do it.”
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Manchester City came back to beat Newcastle 3-1 in the FA Cup despite 10 changes from Pep Guardiola as the fans had another top night at St James’ Park
It wasn’t the third goal of the night that put the Blues ahead for the first time but a successful tackle, Marmoush racing back to dispossess the speedy Will Osula so that City could get the ball back and attack again. Having nearly been out of this FA Cup tie in the first 20 minutes with a Harvey Barnes goal the least that Newcastle deserved, City somehow fought back.
Never mind a game of two halves, this was a half of two halves. From looking vulnerable every time they tried to play out from the back and getting overrun by a home side that looked intent on making up for their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat, City wrestled control of the game away from Newcastle and played themselves level.
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It came in slightly comical fashion, Savinho still as a statue as Jeremy Doku’s cross hit him in the six-yard box and rolled over the line with all the agonising slowness of Rayan Cherki’s pea-roller in injury time at Anfield, yet Savinho had earned it. On his first start since injury on New Year’s Day, the winger that can frustrate fans so often was instrumental in getting City going.
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Tijjani Reijnders missed too many chances and Marmoush hadn’t really been in the game when he made that challenge just before half-time but the spirit said a lot. City could have easily not fancied it, with Guardiola making 10 changes ahead of Real Madrid and nobody expecting this team to still be in contention for four trophies.
But, after a shellshocked start, a group of City players trying to work their way back into form turned the game on its head and completely dismantled Newcastle. Marmoush fired in from close range at the start of the second half and then smashed one in from outside the box on the hour mark to complete the comeback.
The home side are tired physically and mentally – they probably would have liked to make as many changes as City did and by the time their impact subs came on they were two goals behind. But this still stood as one of the toughest draws Guardiola’s side could have had, and to make more changes for it than Mikel Arteta made for Arsenal’s trip to Mansfield shows that this squad has strength as well as spirit.
Guardiola is now one game away from extending his astonishing record and making Wembley in nine of his 10 seasons in the FA Cup – he will have to curb his temper if he wants to be in the dugout for the quarter after racking up another yellow card – while City have put the Forest disappointment behind them in the best possible way.
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With Marmoush scoring two as Erling Haaland rested up at home and Rodri, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi and Bernardo Silva sitting it out on the bench, City head to Madrid full of confidence. They will just wish they could play Newcastle every week.
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Italy pulled off their first-ever win over England at the 33rd attempt with a 23-18 victory at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday as the visitors slumped to a third successive Six Nations defeat after Leonardo Marin’s try eight minutes from time.
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Suryakumar Yadav responded to comments made by Mitchell Santner about silencing the home crowd in the final
NEW DELHI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Saturday responded to comments made by Mitchell Santner about silencing the home crowd in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad, saying such remarks have become common before major matches.India will face New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.Earlier in the day, New Zealand captain Santner had said his team would look to quieten the home crowd during the final. His statement was similar to one made by Pat Cummins before the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 at the same venue, when Australia defeated India.“The goal is to silence the crowd. There are a lot of variables in T20 cricket, and it is fickle at times,” the 34-year-old said. “If we go out about our business the same way we can upset another big team. There’s obviously a lot of pressure on in there (on India) to win this World Cup at home.”
T20 World Cup: Mitchell Santner press conference before IND vs NZ
Responding to the remark, Suryakumar said such statements are now repeated often before major games.“Sab he same line chipka rahe hai. Kuch to naya bolo (Everyone is now saying the same thing. Come up with something new),” Suryakumar Yadav told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
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The 35-year-old India captain, who is the second-highest run-scorer for the team in the 2026 T20 World Cup, said leading the side in a World Cup final comes with pressure but he wants to enjoy the occasion.He added that the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room remains positive as the team prepares for the final.“It’s a special feeling and everyone is very excited. We have a very good environment in the group. We are looking forward to the big final,” he said.“As a leader, there would be pressure; I cannot deny that. Definitely, there would be added pressure, the excitement is there of playing a World Cup final, that too in India,” Suryakumar added.India became the first defending champions to reach the final of the T20 World Cup. They will look to win the title and also become the first host nation to lift the trophy when they face New Zealand on Sunday.
England’s head coach Brendon McCullum, centre, with players (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
Following England’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, head coach Brendon McCullum has stood by his coaching philosophy, insisting the team’s white-ball setup still has the ingredients to achieve “special stuff” if their talent is nurtured correctly.England’s journey in the tournament ended in the semi-finals after a thrilling contest against India national cricket team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. The high-scoring clash saw England fall short by seven runs, bringing an end to a campaign that had earlier seen them advance through the Super 8 stage with a flawless record.
T20 World Cup Final: Greenstone Lobo predicts India vs New Zealand winner | Astrological analysis
The 44-year-old coach has recently been under scrutiny, with critics suggesting the environment within the team under his leadership places too much emphasis on relaxation and off-field enjoyment instead of strict high-performance standards. McCullum, however, dismissed that notion, saying the perception does not reflect how the team actually operates.“It’s never been about that. That’s a perception that is not necessarily reality. I think there’s a perception that we run a casual operation. It couldn’t be further from the truth. We run an informal operation, but the work is done, and the preparation is put in place,” McCullum said as quoted by the BBC.He explained that while the team environment may appear relaxed, it does not come at the cost of preparation or discipline.“There’s an environment that operates in a certain way, but because you are relaxed around that doesn’t mean the work is not being done. That’s just an attitude to try to allow guys to be as free as possible to implement the skills and tactics that you’re trying to achieve. Look, I make no apologies for running an informal, positive environment, but to call it a casual environment is not fair,” He added.McCullum also reserved special praise for England’s white-ball captain Harry Brook, who led the side in his first major tournament as skipper.“I’m incredibly proud of him. He’s grown immensely in the last couple of months under difficult circumstances,” McCullum said.“There’s a real identity to how Harry Brook’s England white-ball side is going to play. It’s hugely encouraging because a couple of months ago, you probably didn’t have that. He has done an amazing job,” he added.England’s semi-final against India ultimately became the highest-scoring fixture of the tournament, ending in a narrow seven-run defeat. Earlier in the competition, England had also lost to the West Indies cricket team and were pushed in challenging encounters against Scotland national cricket team, Italy national cricket team and Pakistan national cricket team.Despite the disappointment of the World Cup campaign and a recent 4-1 loss in The Ashes, McCullum is expected to continue in his position as England’s head coach.
Last year, Rickie Fowler spent the week of the Arnold Palmer Invitational not at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Not because Fowler, who had a close relationship with Arnold Palmer, chose not to tee it up in Orlando, but because his play didn’t gain him entry, and Palmer’s grandson, Sam Saunders, elected not to use a sponsor’s invite on the fan-favorite Fowler.
“At the end of the day, play better. It would be a lot easier just having played well last year and earned my way into these events,” Fowler said at last year’s Cognizant Classic about not getting an invite. “It is what it is. Like I said, at the end of the day, play well and that’ll take care of it. Obviously I’m bummed that I won’t be there next week. It’s a special event, and obviously I had a very special relationship with Mr. Palmer. But we’ll see. We’ll see if we can get a trophy this week, and that would take care of that.”
He didn’t win that week, instead finishing in a tie for 18th, which meant spending the weekend of API at home grinding instead of playing in one of his favorite events on the PGA Tour. Fowler was in the midst of scratchy play that saw him card just one top-10 finish in a two-year period. But the six-time PGA Tour winner started to find his form as spring turned to summer. He posted a top-10 at the Memorial and then finished the season with back-to-back top-10s at the FedEx St. Jude and BMW Championship, which saw him finish the season inside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and put him into all the Signature Events in 2026.
This time, no sponsor invite needed.
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“It gave me a little motivation,” Fowler said on Friday at Bay Hill about not getting an exemption in 2025. “Yeah, it was a bummer not to be here, but sponsor invites are sponsor invites. There’s no guarantees, and it’s up to the tournament and the people involved who they want to give those to. So it’s a lot easier when you go out and earn it. I did a good job of that last year through the summer to get myself back inside the top 50, so I didn’t have to ask for favors or ask for invites. So a little more stress-free this year.”
The only other time Fowler has missed the Arnold Palmer Invitational came in 2016 when he had a scheduling issue in his run-up to the Masters. At the urging of his agent, Fowler drove to Bay Hill to let Palmer know in person that he wouldn’t be able to play in his event. That conversation was difficult.
“It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do,” Fowler said of that conversation with Palmer. “Felt like worse than a breakup, you know, to come up here and tell him that. It wasn’t — he wasn’t too excited. But obviously, him being a player, he understood and respected that I came here and told him. So it was special to have the relationship that I did with him and to be in a position now where we continue to do stuff to help out the foundation and do our little part to help continue on that legacy.”
Nine years later, Fowler’s golf caused him to once again miss a tournament close to his heart.
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Things are different in 2026.
Fowler arrived at Bay Hill this week having carded three top-25s in four starts so far in 2026. He used the offseason to rest a shoulder injury that nagged him throughout the 2025 season, but one he fought through in order to put himself in the position he now finds himself in: with a ticket into all of the Signature Events and an ability to pick and choose his schedule.
After posting back-to-back 69s at Bay Hill, Fowler enters the weekend in the top 10 and with a chance to add an important trophy to his case — one that would hold added significance because of Fowler’s connection to Palmer and the type of golf he knows it will take to don the red cardigan on Sunday.
“This would be very high on the list,” Fowler said of winning at Bay Hill. “It would be a lot more special being able to get that red sweater from Arnie himself. But, no, this has always been one of my favorite events.
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“We’ve had chances and played well here before. This is a special one, especially with, one, the field, but the golf course, the test, it’s a grind and the guys that win here and have success here, you can’t fake it around this place, you have to earn it.”
Rickie Fowler will open the weekend seven shots back of 36-hole leader Daniel Berger, who shot a first-round 63 in softer morning conditions. But with the greens at Bay Hill dying and carnage lurking around every corner, it’s still very much anyone’s tournament.
After a year away from an event close to his heart, Fowler finds himself right in the thick of things.
Less than a month after winning Olympic gold, U.S. figure skating sensation Alysa Liu appears to have surprisingly pulled out of the World Skating Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.
Liu is no longer listed on the event’s participants on the International Skating Union (ISU) website. Her original spot is now filled by second alternative, Sarah Everhardt.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Liu’s representatives for comment.
Alysa Liu of the United States arrives to compete during the women’s figure skating free program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
No reason is currently known for Liu’s sudden absence from the roster.
The change comes just days after Liu revealed on social media that she was recently “chased” to her car by a spectator.
“So I land at the airport, & there’s a crowd waiting at the exit with cameras & things for me to sign,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “All up in my personal space. Someone chased me to my car bruh. Please do not do that to me.”
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Liu previously entered a temporary retirement shortly after her first Olympic appearance in 2022. Her father, Arthur Liu, said it was due to “trauma.”
“She became really unhappy,” Arthur Liu told USA Today about why she retired. “She avoided the ice rink at all costs. She’s traumatized. She was just traumatized. She was suffering from PTSD, and she wouldn’t go near the ice rink.”
Before her appearance in the 2022 Beijing Games, she and her father were the alleged targets of a spying operation by the Chinese government. Liu called the experience “a little bit freaky and exciting.”
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of Team United States poses for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Single Skating on day thirteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“You know what I mean? It’s so … unbelievable. You know what I mean like, that’s crazy,” she previously told Fox News Digital at a roundtable interview at the USOPC Media Summit in October.
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“Like, imagine finding that out at such a young age, I mean, like In a weird way, I was like, ‘Am I like in some prank show?’ Like, is this world real. Like, I must be some movie character. But, I mean, it was like it made sense to me, you know, from like everything my dad did back in his activist days.”
Arthur Liu told The Associated Press in 2022, “They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to … in a way threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble to them and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China. … I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her.”
Liu made her return to the sport just two years later in 2024. By March 2025, she was already making history for Team USA, becoming the first American to the World Figure Skating Championships in 19 years. Then in February, she made history as the first American to win Olympic gold in a women’s individual figure skating competition since 2002, and the first American woman to medal at all in the event since 2006.
Alysa Liu of Team United States performs in the Women’s Single Skating routine during a Figure Skating Exhibition Gala on day fifteen of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 21, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Prior to the Olympics, she had less than 300,000 followers on Instagram. Just a week after the Olympics ended, she climbed past 5 million. Now, at the time of publication, she has more than 7.4 million.
However, it appears that many of her new fans now won’t get to see her compete in Prague.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly looking to strengthen the wide receiver position this offseason. The 49ers have been linked with a few names as free agency looms.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who is set to become a free agent in the coming days, has been linked to the 49ers. NFL analyst Josh Taylor reported the links in an X post on Friday, saying he’d be “stunned” if the 49ers, worth $8.6 billion per Forbes, don’t sign Doubs.
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“Romeo Doubs to the 49ers is one of the worst kept secrets in free agency right now,” Taylor wrote on X. “I’d be stunned if he doesn’t go there.”
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The Packers selected Doubs with the 132nd pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Over the past four seasons with the Packers, he has racked up 2,424 yards and 21 touchdowns on 202 catches.
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The 25-year-old wide receiver is one of three players in Packers history to rack up at least 40 catches, 400 yards and three touchdowns in each of his first three seasons.
The 49ers are set to part ways with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and are also expected to let Jauan Jennings walk into free agency. Romeo Doubs’ potential addition to San Francisco’s wide receiver room makes sense amid the slated departures.
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However, the 49ers aren’t the only team linked with the Packers WR as NFL insider Mark Kaboly reported that Doubs is top of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ shopping list in free agency.
“It’s hard to say right now, but you’d have to put Doubs at the top of that list, in my opinion,” Kaboly said.
Veteran NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly called to inquire about Doubs’ trade availability in August after joining the Steelers.
