Stunning drama as England knock Sweden out on penalties
|
49 mins ago
ENGLAND ROARED INTO the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025 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.
Advertisement
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.
– © AFP 2025
Written by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe
here
.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Eagle-eyed fans spot what Chloe Kelly was doing in hilarious Lionesses celebration photo after Euro 2025 win
PENALTY hero Chloe Kelly was the heart and soul of England's celebrations following the Lionesses dramatic Euro 2025 final victory over Spain. Kelly, 27, kept her cool to slot home the decisive penalty as 4 Chloe Kelly was England's hero as the Lionesses won Euro 2025 Credit: Getty 4 Kelly scored the decisive penalty on a historic night in Basel Credit: Getty 4 England retained their title as European champions Credit: AP The Kelly However some England fans joked that she was getting a little carried away when a hilarious team photo surfaced seemingly showing her taking a nibble at a teammate's arm. A celebratory selfie snapped by veteran star READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Noticing that the Orlando Pride stopper appeared to have Kelly biting down on her arm, one England fan online joked: "Whose arm is Chloe Kelly munching on?" While another added: " A third asked: "Is Chloe trying to eat Anna's arm?" And a fourth teased: "Chloe Kelly is getting hungry". Most read in Football 4 Kelly appeared to be biting down on Anna Moorhouse's elbow in a hilarious team selfie Credit: X @lionesses CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS In reality it seemed to just be an unfortunate angle, with Kelly actually celebrating with another teammate behind Moorhouse. The former Man City forward History-making Lionesses showed true English grit to win Euros and fully deserve the glory Kelly had similar influences from the bench in the Lionesses' dramatic semi-final and quarter-final victories over Speaking after her confidently dispatched penalty, Kelly had no doubt she was going to score having She told the BBC: "I was cool. I was composed. "And I knew I was going to hit the back of the net. I don't miss penalties twice". She added: "The celebrations are going to be crazy. I hope the whole of England comes out to support us and shows the love to all these girls, because they deserve it." The Lionesses made history by becoming the first England side across both the men's and women's game to win a major tournament on foreign soil. While boss England are queens of Europe England legend Lucy Bronze reveals she played Player ratings - see how England's finest in Chloe Kelly steals the show after Eagle-eyed fans stunned at where Joyous
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Be 'prepared to win with skill but be ready to win by will' - Katie Taylor message helped Lions to second half comeback
A video message from boxing hero Katie Taylor helped stir the British & Irish Lions into a comeback for the ages at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. For Jack Conan, like the Olympic gold medalist and professional world champion a native of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Taylor's address to the squad in the build-up to Saturday's second Test was remarkably prescient as the No.8 admitted the Lions were far from at their best as Australia fought for their lives to stay in the series following their first-Test defeat seven days earlier. Conan and co. had to dig deep to fight back from 23-5 down after 30 minutes to snatch a 26-24 victory thanks to a last-minute try from Hugo Keenan. It was the only time in the game that the Lions had been in front and Conan said: 'We were not at our best by any measure, but physically the lads dug in unbelievably well. 'We had a video from Katie Taylor earlier in the week and it was unbelievably poignant and powerful. It spoke about being prepared to win with skill, but be ready to win by will. 'I think that was something that summed up today massively because we were not at our best at all. 'Pretty disappointing how we played, but we played for 80 minutes. Barry (Keenan) getting over the line last minute was just unbelievable. 'I think the celebrations and the craic in the changing room, if we went out and we won by 20, it wouldn't be the same. Read More England retain Euros crown with penalty shootout win over Spain 'Everyone's just over the moon. To be part of a Lions winning series team is just incredibly special. 'I feel incredibly humbled and honoured to be part of it all. 'Not my best game, but a lot of us weren't at the races at all, but we stuck in there. 'You can't fault the effort. I thought the defensive sets we put in, just whacking people and just staying in there was unbelievable. "Something that will go down in history, they weren't writing the history books about how shit we were, but they'll say that we won and that's all that matters. 'Just so special to be part of it." Conan conceded that coming from Bray had made Taylor's pep talk even more special. 'Massively. Huge. Someone to come from the town I'm from, I'm incredibly proud of where I come from and I know Katie is as well. 'She's gone on to achieve incredible feats in the boxing world and to be such a superstar and be just incredibly humble and driven and knock it out of herself is something that we kind of leant on as well, because we knew that Australia are a hugely proud nation and they showed it today in spades. 'They were unbelievable, they really were, but we just stuck in it for 80 minutes and just incredibly proud of the effort from the lads. 'I know things didn't click and we weren't flowing properly, but we were getting off the line, trying to hit people, trying to make it count every chance we got. 'And I think we did that and that's why we got the result in the end.' The Leinster and Ireland back-rower said the impact of Taylor's message, arranged by her former mentor and current Ireland and Lions performance coach Gary Keegan, had reached beyond the Irish players in the Lions squad. 'Gary Keegan would have been very close with her and helped her through her amateur career into her professional career, he's the link there. 'Lads absolutely loved it because it meant a lot to me being from the same place and seeing her on the world stage, but I think everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy, it resonated with everyone. 'It was unbelievably poignant, it was class. It really hit home for us, it was brilliant.' Conan, who was playing his fifth consecutive Lions Test match having been ever-present during the 2021 series against South Africa, hailed the 2025 team's ability to stay calm and collected when the Wallabies had stormed into an 19-point lead and looked proved to level the series. 'It's an unbelievable privilege to be part of this group. No bad fellas, absolutely no bad fellas. 'Everyone is unbelievably sound, everyone wants the team to do well whether you're playing or you're not playing and it was a disjointed week with the Pacific Nations game on the Tuesday night and everything else so it was a bit tricky. 'We trained Monday, Tuesday but really lightly and then Thursday we were, if you ask the lads, we were pretty shocking when we trained on Thursday, we were all over the place, so maybe that fed into a bit of Saturday but it doesn't matter.' Conan also had praise for match-winning hero Keegan, though he had every reason to grumble given the full-back opted to go it alone to score rather than take the safer option and pass out wide to his No.8. "I was shouting for it, but Barry goes and scores a try so I've no complaints. If he bottled it there in that moment I would have killed him and kicked the arse off him afterwards, but that was great. 'Tense moments there at the end with the clean out but that's never a penalty, that's an unbelievable clear out from Jac (Morgan) and I think he had a savage impact, I think the whole bench was brilliant – Gengey, Faz, Cheese – James Ryan - was unbelievable when they came on, Ronan as well, absolutely smashing lads. 'I thought the impact off the bench was unbelievable, Blair as well making line breaks to everyone else which was huge, so we needed that lift from the bench because we were not great by our own admission." As for Keenan, Conan added: "Delighted for him, because he had a bit of a rocky start to the campaign with the sickness that derailed him for a while and it's a testament to his professionalism and staying in it. 'I was delighted for him, now in saying that, I would have liked it more if he gave me the ball on the edge of and I scored the try. No, delighted for Barry, I probably would have dropped it."
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Goalie Hannah Hampton is England's penalties hero as Lionesses roar to Euros glory over Spain
GOALIE Hannah Hampton was England's penalties hero with two saves as the Lionesses roared to Euros glory over Spain last night. Hannah starred in the Advertisement 10 Goalie Hannah Hampton was England's penalties hero as she starred in the 3-1 shootout win Credit: AFP 10 It was striker Chloe Kelly who sealed the win Credit: EPA 10 The Lionesses lift the trophy after their Euros victory over Spain Credit: Reuters The King hailed They are the first senior England football team to It was striker She brought it home this time by Advertisement READ MORE ON EUROS VICTORY Manager The Moments later, Kelly said: 'I am so proud of this team. So grateful to wear this badge. So proud to be English. I was cool, I was composed. 'I knew I was going to hit the back of the net. Unbelievable. All the staff and Sarina Wiegman — she has done it again! Unbelievable. Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog 'It is going to be crazy. I hope the whole of England comes out to support us and shows their love to these girls as they deserve it.' Supersub Michelle Agyemang, the breakout star of the tournament, sank to her knees and wept as Kelly's penalty went in. Chloe Kelly completes Lionesses' greatest comeback yet to retain Euros title In the stands, Prince William and daughter Princess Charlotte roared with delight at the victory. Just before kick-off, a snap of the pair was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales's X account with the caption: 'Let's go, Lionesses.' Advertisement Jubilant Wills later greeted them, giving skipper King Charles told the Lionesses: 'You have my whole family's warmest appreciation and admiration. The next task is to bring home the World Cup in 2027, if you possibly can!' The team will be at a Downing Street reception today hosted by Deputy PM Angela Rayner and sports minister Stephanie Peacock. Ms Rayner said: 'Our Lionesses are absolute champions. Not only are they bringing it home for England again, but they're inspiring the next generation of champions too.' Advertisement PM Keir Starmer added: 'The Lionesses have once again captured the hearts of the nation. "Their victory is not only a remarkable sporting achievement, but an inspiration for young people across the country.' 10 Dad Wills and Princess Charlotte look delighted as England win the shoot-out Credit: Getty 10 Penalty hero Chloe Kelly lifts the Euros 2025 trophy Credit: EPA Advertisement 10 Hannah celebrates with the trophy after the Lionesses triumph Credit: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/APL Former England striker and footie pundit Gary Lineker wrote online: 'They've done it again. She's done it again. Kelly's heroes. Fabulous.' Dutchwoman Wiegman said after the win: 'I can't believe it! We said we can win by any means and that's what we have shown again today. 'I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible.' Advertisement Spain were favourites on the back of an impressive run of ten straight victories in all competitions, scoring 38 goals in the process. But England, despite a shaky start to the tournament, were confident after seeing off Sweden in the quarters and Italy in the semi-final. A crowd of 34,203 watched as England enjoyed a bright start, with the first chance after three minutes. But as the match wore on, Spain began to dominate and England goalkeeper Advertisement Mariona Caldentey put Spain ahead on 25 minutes, with Alessia Russo heading England level on 57 minutes. Then, with neither side making a breakthrough in extra time, the match went to a penalty shootout. Hero Hampton saved twice before Kelly's trademark hop, skip and run 10 Hampton embraces manager Sarina Wiegman, who won her third consecutive Euros Credit: PA Advertisement 10 The jubilant squad mob Kelly after her winning kick Credit: AP 10 Prince William congratulates starlet Michelle Agyemang Credit: Reuters 10 Chloe repeated her feat from Wembley three years ago when she took off her jersey in celebration Credit: PA
