England see off Sweden after nine missed penalties in shootout to reach Euro 2025 semi-finals

Irish Independent

17-07-2025

Bronze's successful kick, coupled with Smilla Holmberg's miss, earned the Lionesses a 3-2 win on penalties after they had staged a stirring late fightback to snatch a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.
An early mistake allowed Kosovare Asllani to fire Sweden into a second-minute lead, assisted by Arsenal striker Stina Blackstenius, who doubled the advantage in the 25th minute.
Bronze, at 33 the oldest player in Sarina Wiegman's squad, gave England a fighting chance when she nodded home in the 79th minute before 19-year-old substitute Michelle Agyemang, the youngest of the group winning just her third cap, scored to force extra-time.
Bronze finally decided the contest with England's seventh spot-kick of an error-strewn shootout, her emphatic effort proving decisive as Holmberg fired over for Sweden.
England boss Wiegman kept with the same starting line-up from their final group-stage victory over Wales, but her side got off to a terrible start when a poor pass from Jess Carter caught the foot of the closing Asllani.
The trajectory proved challenging for Keira Walsh, whose own attempt to clear hit Filippa Angeldal, the ball bouncing out favourably for Blackstenius, who teed up her captain for a top-corner finish.
Blackstenius - who scored the winner in Arsenal's Champions League final victory over Barcelona in May - nearly doubled Sweden's lead after England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was caught out of position, only to be denied by a vital intervention by her Gunners team-mate Leah Williamson.
Lauren Hemp then came inches away from equalising, hitting the bar with England's first real chance before Blackstenius did double Sweden's advantage.
Sweden's forced a turnover, allowing Julia Zigiotti Olme to slip a pass down the right to Blackstenius, who, one-on-one with Carter, outpaced the England defender and slotted her third goal of the tournament into the bottom left corner.
England were not at the races and made it too easy for Fridolina Rolfo to test Hampton, who made a big stoppage-time save at the end of the first half.
Another alert save by the Chelsea keeper denied Blackstenius a second after the restart.
An unchanged England looked a bit brighter, but every ball the Lionesses delivered into the area was blocked by a yellow shirt.
Lauren Hemp was beaten to a cross by Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk when she tried to halve the deficit with a header and Ella Toone looked to have a chance but elected to pass the ball, which was then intercepted and cleared.
Wiegman made her first changes with 20 minutes remaining, introducing Beth Mead, Esme Morgan and Agyemang for Toone, Carter and Georgia Stanway, then Chloe Kelly for Hemp soon after.
And it was Kelly who made an instant impact, her deep cross picking out Bronze, who cushioned a header past Falk to give England hope.
Those goal celebrations had scarcely subsided when Agyemang pounced on a loose ball from another Kelly cross, which had come off initial target Mead, and poked home.
It proved enough to force extra-time after Hampton mitigated another England mistake when she palmed away Madelen Janogy's effort.
She then leapt to her right to keep out Angeldahl's effort from distance, when neither side able to find a winner in the additional 30 minutes.
Alessia Russo coolly converted past a diving Falk with the first penalty of the shootout and all looked to be going well for England when Hampton then denied Angeldal.
But Falk saved from Lauren James and Olme blasted into the top corner before Mead saw her effort saved.
The drama then dialled up when Magdalena Eriksson's effort clipped a post and Falk made another save to deny Alex Greenwood.
England's hopes were hanging by a thread when Nathalie Bjorn sent her Chelsea team-mate Hampton the wrong way, but Kelly's ice-cold conversion kept them alive before Falk, with the chance to win it, blazed over.
The Sweden keeper atoned to deny Grace Clinton, but Sofia Jakobsson missed and Bronze planted her penalty into the roof of the net before Holmberg's miss sparked wild celebrations on the England bench.