England beat Sweden in sensational penalty shoot-out to reach Women's Euro semis
It was a thrilling climax to a game in which England teetered on the brink of elimination, only to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
In all, Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk saved four penalties, but she skied the potentially winning spot kick over the bar, throwing a lifeline to England that they gleefully grabbed.
Lucy Bronze fired the holders into the lead before Swedish teenager Smilla Holmberg blasted her effort high over the crossbar to end the contest.
It all looked so different for the Swedes as they roared into an early lead, Stina Blackstenius teeing up captain Kosovare Asllani to score in the second minute after England gave the ball away cheaply, and Blackstenius then out-ran Jess Carter to score with a confident finish herself in the 25th minute.
The Swedes looked more than comfortable throughout the first half as England floundered.
Following the interval coach Sarina Wiegman rang in the changes, bringing on Beth Mead, Michelle Agyemang and Esme Morgan in the 70th minute, and the introduction of Chloe Kelly a few minutes later added even more attacking verve.
Bronze pulled a goal back for England in the 79th minute, meeting Kelly's cross and heading home from a tight angle to re-ignite the white-clad fans in the crowd and Agyemang levelled two minutes later with a superb poacher's finish to send the game to extra time.
Both sides had their fair share of chances in extra time but the game went to penalties, and though the Swedes missed their first spot kick, Falk's superb saves soon put them in the driving seat.
She had the chance to win it but she sent her kick high over the bar, and though she saved from Grace Clinton, Bronze beat her from the spot.
After Sofia Jakobsson's miss, the pressure proved too much for the 18-year-old Holmberg, who fired over.
'Right now, I don't know, I don't know,' England keeper Hannah Hampton, who suffered a bloody nose in the game, said when asked how she felt after the dramatic victory.
'It's just all gone so quick, like that last little bit in the penalty shootout, but… we're very happy, obviously, you can see all the celebrations going around.' Wiegman breathed a sigh of relief at the final whistle.
'It was hard. One of the hardest games I've ever watched. Very emotional. We could've been out four or five times during the game. When you're 2-0 down at halftime, it's not good,' she said.
'We started really badly and then at the end of the first half we got better and in the second half we got better but we didn't create anything so we had to change shape. Then we scored two goals so that was crazy already.
'Then we go into extra-time, some players injured, some players cramping, Hannah Hampton with blood all over the place, then we go to the penalty shootout and we miss a lot but they miss even more and we're through,' she added.
England will face Italy in Geneva on Tuesday for a place in the final.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Ten-woman Germany reach Euro 2025 semis
Germany's Sjoeke Nusken and Klara Buhl celebrate after winning the penalty shootout at Euro 2025 against France. PHOTO: REUTERS Ten-woman Germany reached the Women's Euro 2025 semi-finals on Saturday after prevailing 6-5 in a penalty shootout against France following a gruelling match which finished 1-1 after extra time. Alice Sombath missed the decisive penalty for France to hand a last-four clash with Spain to Germany, who will take on the world champions in Zurich on Wednesday. Germany maintained their record of having never lost to France in a major summer tournament after battling back from going a goal and a woman down in the first 15 minutes to win a bruising encounter in Basel. St Jacob's Park was dominated by fierce German support which flocked over the nearby border with Switzerland and roared their team on even after Kathrin Hendrich was sent off and gave away the penalty from which Grace Geyoro opened the scoring. Sjoeke Nuesken — who also missed a penalty in the second half — levelled the scores 10 minutes later and, after a long battle to hold off France, Sombath's mistake sent the majority of the crowd wild. Germany came into the match already missing key defenders Giulia Gwinn and Carlotta Wamser, to injury and suspension respectively, while star striker Lea Schueller was also surprisingly left on the bench. And the Germans' task was made even harder in the 13th minute when Hendrich inexplicably pulled Griedge Mbock's hair while defending a free-kick. But out of nowhere Nuesken drew a huge roar from the fans when she rose, completely unmarked, to glance home Klara Buehl's inswinging corner. From there Germany were content to sit back and hold France off by fair means or foul, and they were saved from being behind at the break by Delphone Cascarino needlessly straying offside before flicking home Kadidiatou Diani's low cross. That was one of the few decent attacks France managed to conjure up with an extra woman, and they continued to struggle after the break. Even when Geyoro had the ball in the net for the second time, lashing home on the rebound after a fine save from Ann-Katrin Berger, the goal was ruled out as Maelle Lakrar impeded the Germany goalkeeper while in an offside position. And Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved France's skin when she kept out Nuesken's awful penalty in the 69th minute, given for a soft foul on Jule Brand. But it was Ann-Katrin Berger who made possibly the save of the tournament 12 minutes into extra time when she somehow clawed out Janina Minge's inadvertant header and stopped Germany going out with an own goal. Berger could only watch as Melvine Malard shook the crossbar with almost the last kick of the game before the shootout, in which Amel Majri and Sombath both had weak efforts saved and allowed Germany to win against all odds. Germany's Berger 'living best life' after Euros shootout heroics Ann-Katrin Berger is on top of the world after her saves on Saturday helped send Germany past France and into the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025. Berger, a two-time survivor of thyroid cancer, saved Alice Sombath's penalty to decide the shootout 6-5 in Germany's favour after a gruelling match ended 1-1 after extra time. The 34-year-old also stopped France's first penalty from Amel Majri and kept the scores level in the first half of extra time with an astonishing stop to make sure Janina Minge didn't knock Germany out with an own goal. "I feel like I'm not a really emotional person, I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad that I have the team I have. Obviously the time here just makes me proud to be here," Berger told reporters. "Whatever happened in 2022 is in the past and I'm looking forward to it now, to the future. For me, now I live my best life and I'm in the semi-final." In the last four, Germany will face world champions Spain in Zurich on Wednesday.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Spain see off Swiss to reach Euro 2025 semi-finals
Spain reached the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Friday after battling past Switzerland 2-0 as the world champions continued their bid for a first-ever European crown. Athenea del Castillo and Claudia Pina scored the goals in the second half in Bern to give La Roja deserved passage to the last four where they will face either France or Germany on Wednesday. But Montse Tome's team didn't have it all their own way as hosts Switzerland put up a brave fight in front of a passionate crowd at the Wankdorf Stadium. The Swiss survived an early scare when Mariona Caldentey shot wide a ninth-minute penalty and from there did a great job in gumming up Spain's usually free-flowing football. "We expected something like this, we are in quarters with the host team and all the fans. They have been very competitive team, very intense," said Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati. "They defended deep and didn't allow us to play our game, but in the end it turned out OK. Now we have some very difficult games ahead. "We are used to winning from the start but football is not like that, you have to compete for 90 minutes. We did a good job, we were calm and confident in our abilities." Pia Sundhage's players acquitted themselves brilliantly in their home tournament and were given a loud round of applause from the majority of the nearly 30,000 supporters who stayed behind for some time after the final whistle to show their appreciation to the team. The Swiss, who finished the match with 10 women after Noelle Maritz was sent off in the final minute, had never progressed past the group stage of a Euros before and in the end Spain proved to be too much for the team ranked 23rd in the world. "But at least we tried. I think that is the most important thing... And I'm also very, very, very proud of Switzerland, if you look at the people coming to the games, it's been phenomenal," Sundhage told reporters. "It's been a once-in-a-lifetime feeling, very emotional. They didn't leave, they stayed and I think that's a great sign. "It tells me that there are some people in Switzerland who think that women's football is important. And I'm very, very grateful for that." Spain meanwhile overcame a serious test of patience before their superior quality eventually prevailed, with Alexia Putellas' wasted penalty late on changing nothing. An already raucous home crowd roared with delight when Caldentey scuffed wide her spot-kick after the Arsenal forward was brought down by Nadine Riesen. But that didn't discourage Spain who dealt well with the fervent atmosphere and some fierce tackling but struggled to find a way through the home team's packed defence.
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
England reach Euro 2025 semi-final
England roared into the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025 on Thursday after coming back from two goals down and then beating Sweden 3-2 in a chaotic penalty shoot-out to continue their title defence. Smilla Holmberg blasted over from the spot to settle the shootout drama in Zurich after the match finished 2-2 thanks to Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang's quick-fire strikes just as England looked to be limping out of the tournament. The reigning European champions were staring at elimination with 11 minutes remaining in normal time after Kosovare Asllani, who opened the scoring with her 50th international goal in the second minute, and Stina Blackstenius shot Sweden into a two-goal lead at half-time. "That was one of the hardest games I have ever watched. We could have been out four or five times," England boss Sarina Wiegman told the BBC. "We started badly. We didn't create anything so we changed shape and we scored two goals which was crazy. The shootout, we missed a lot but they missed more and we're through." England will face Italy, who are in the last four for the first time since 1997, in the last four in Geneva on Tuesday after a rollercoaster comeback. "Not how we planned it to be, of course, but it's a learning experience that we put in our back pocket and learn from going forward," Chloe Kelly, who was key to both England goals and took one of the few good penalties of the shootout, told reporters. "We solved the problems and then it was about getting back in the game. The resilience of the team is incredible." Defeat ended Sweden's bid for a first major honour since winning the first official Euros back in 1984, Peter Gerhardsson's team falling in the most painful of fashions. Goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, who saved four penalties, had the chance to send Sweden through but like Holmberg she scooped her effort over the bar and gave England the chance to reach the last four. "All analysis feels fairly pointless right now, right now it's melancholy. You feel a certain sadness that it turned out this way," said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson. England scored 10 goals in their final two Group D matches to reach the last eight but showed none of that attacking flair in the early stages at the Letzigrund Stadium. Sweden were on the front foot from the off and somehow it was no surprise when Asllani drilled home her opener after just one minute and 46 seconds, the attacking midfielder being left completely free to collect Blackstenius' lay-off and score. Jess Carter's loose pass led to that goal and moments later goalkeeper Hannah Hampton almost gifted Blackstenius her third goal of the tournament after miscontrolling the ball and allowing the Arsenal striker to bear down on an open goal before Leah Williamson slid in to cut out the danger. Lauren Hemp's pot shot was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by Falk but that was a rare bright spot in a dismal opening half for England, who were deservedly two behind at the break. Blackstenius showed how lethal she can be in the 25th minute when she raced in behind a dozing English defence, collected Julia Zigiotti Olme's pass, held off Carter and slotted home. England were brighter after the restart and Hemp should have halved the deficit when she failed to direct Lauren James' cross on target. And Bronze gave England hope by heading home a searching cross in the 79th minute from Kelly, one of four late substitutions alongside Agyemang who two minutes later reacted quickest to a loose ball and prodded England level. Extra time passed without much incident and that left the shootout in which a parade of poor penalties ended with Holmberg ballooning her effort way over and sending England through.
