Latest news with #SmillaHolmberg
South Wales Argus
15 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Hampton says she is 'happy at England again' after heroic display
As Smilla Holmberg blazed her decisive penalty over the bar, Hannah Hampton was swarmed by a charge of celebrating England players. A tissue still stuffed up her nose to stem the flow of blood as the first notes of Sweet Caroline rang round the Stadion Letzigrund, this was a career-defining moment. The image of her continuing with a bloodied nose will be remembered just as much as her heroics in the penalty shootout that followed as England progressed to the Euro 2025 semi-finals. England came back from two goals behind to draw 2-2 as Hampton claimed the player of the match accolade after they triumphed 3-2 against Sweden on penalties. 'We said at half-time, 'We don't want to go home,' so we knew it was down to us to turn the game around and that is what we did,' she said. 'We know that whoever is on that pitch from right at the back to up top, they're going to put in 100% for that team. We know that we're going to be fighting for every person on that field whether they make mistake, the next one is there to back them up. 'I'm just glad that we all stuck together. That is one thing we never wanted to do, we never wanted to turn on each other. 'If the outcome was reversed and we were going home, we didn't want to feel like we all got on each other's backs.' It was a togetherness that saw the Lionesses turn around an otherwise underwhelming display inside three minutes as Chloe Kelly's introduction in the 78th minute brought greater threat to the England attack. Goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang brought England back from 2-0 down and the fight could be found all over the pitch. Bronze was seen taping her own quad during extra-time, Lauren James and Leah Williamson both took knocks to their ankle, while Hampton's nose streamed with blood. 'All I remember was that I was going up for that ball and the next thing I know is someone has elbowed me I think,' said Hampton. 'I thought I got away with it at first but as I sat up it just started streaming. But as a few of the girls said, I'm better with one nostril so I think I might have it again the next game. 'It shows that 'proper England' is back. We're going in the right direction, and everyone was putting their bodies on the line out there, literally. 'Everyone is a bit battered and bruised. We'll definitely be taking the next couple of days to recover ready for the next game. 'But you know everyone has got your back out there and tackles were made when they needed to be.' Your reactions to a memorable night ❤️ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 18, 2025 Hampton herself has not had the easiest run to the England number one spot. Just this year she has come under immeasurable scrutiny as Mary Earps announced her retirement from international football after Sarina Wiegman had said Hampton was ahead of her in the pecking order. It led fans to suggest Earps was worthier of the jersey than Hampton, with the 24-year-old speaking out before the tournament about the difficulty of dealing with such perceptions. 'It's hard when you see English fans not want you in goal. I've not done anything to make you hate me,' she told ITV Sport. But if she hadn't already convinced fans of her place in the team with pinpoint passing against the Netherlands, the Chelsea 'keeper will have silenced any doubters with her display on Thursday. 'It's been a difficult couple of years in the England environment. All the girls were ecstatic, they've seen all the hard work I've put in and how difficult it has been,' she reflected. 'They've helped me to get to where I am now in being happy to wear an England shirt again. I just want to do whatever I can for the team to get that win. 'I don't care if I have one touch in a game or multiple, I just want to do whatever I can to get what we deserve as a team. 'It was a big team performance today. I'm just happy for the whole group of girls. We didn't want to go home.' Hampton was instrumental in preventing such a fate. Sweden failed to score five of the seven penalties they took, with Hampton saving well from Filippa Angeldahl and Sofia Jakobsson. Her Swedish counterpart Jennifer Falk also produced heroics in the net but when she stepped up to take Sweden's fifth penalty to win the shootout, she sent her spot-kick over the bar. 'I was panicking about the fact we didn't have any data on [Falk] on where she was going to go, so I was like, 'Oh my goodness, this is down to me,'' recalled Hampton. 'But I was a bit surprised. She did unbelievably well in the penalty shootout itself with all the saves she did. I was thinking she might just try to focus on saving them like I did. 'But it's always a high-pressure moment, a penalty shootout, so she had enough bravery to step up for Sweden. 'She's seen as a hero for sure with the amount she saved and how she kept Sweden in it right to the very end.'
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
France v Germany: Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final
Update: Date: 2025-07-19T17:41:56.000Z Title: France have always has a star studded side Content: Euro 2025 quarter-final updates, 8pm BST kick-off Schedule | Top scorers | Player guide | Email Sarah Sarah Rendell Sat 19 Jul 2025 19.41 CEST First published on Sat 19 Jul 2025 19.00 CEST 7.41pm CEST 19:41 but they have continually struggled in the latter half of major tournaments. In Euro 2022 they reached the Euros semi-finals for the first time but they were knocked out by – yes you guessed it – their opponents this evening. 7.33pm CEST 19:33 Here's a great read on the game we are about to watch: 7.25pm CEST 19:25 Sweden's Smilla Holmberg missed the nation's final penalty which sent England through but she has been well supported by her teammates and the wider football world. Her father told Swedish outlet P4: She received a text message from Zlatan Ibrahimović this morning, one of her great role models. 7.14pm CEST 19:14 England had to put out a scrappy comeback to overcome Sweden in the quarter-final. The Lionesses will play Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday and here is defender's Esme Morgan's assessment of where the team are: 7.07pm CEST 19:07 Whoever wins tonight will face favourites Spain in the semi-final after they overcame hosts Switzerland last night. Here's how that game went: 7.00pm CEST 19:00 Hello and welcome to the final quarter-final of Euro 2025 between France and Germany. This game is set to be an absolute belter. France finished the group stage with three wins from three which was thoroughly impressive as they found themselves in the group of death with England, the Netherlands and Wales. Germany, meanwhile, dispatched of Poland and Denmark in their group but fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat to Sweden last time out. It will be interesting to see how the Germans bounce back and how this one shakes out. The team news is set to be announced around 6.45pm BST but before that we will look at what has been said in the build-up and what is happening across the tournament.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends message to 'sad' Sweden teen Smilla Holmberg after her miss against England in the 'worst penalty shoot out ever'
Sweden legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent a message of encouragement to Smilla Holmberg after the 18-year-old missed the decisive spot-kick in Thursday's penalty-shootout defeat by England. Holmberg skied over the bar from 12 yards to hand the Lionesses victory in what was dubbed the 'worst penalty shootout ever' by multiple fans. With the Women's Euros quarter-final having ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time, England won 3-2 on penalties after each team had taken seven kicks. Alessia Russo, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Nathalie Bjorn, Chloe Kelly and Lucy Bronze were the only players to successfully convert from the spot in a chaotic shootout featuring nine misses – including one from Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, who had saved three penalties before blasting her own over the crossbar. Holmberg's miss proved decisive and the teenager was left in tears, but she received an unexpected boost the following morning in the form of a personal message from Sweden's greatest male footballer. 'It was a sad daughter I held in my arms about an hour after the game,' Holmberg's father, Ola Persson, told Swedish radio. 'She is strong and she has received a lot of support from both the team, supporters, friends and relatives. She even got a text message from Zlatan here this morning.' Ibrahimovic, who is part-owner of Holmberg's club Hammarby and scored 62 goals in 122 caps for Sweden's men's team, encouraged the young defender to take the next penalty, and the next one after that – urging her to believe in herself and to grow from the experience. 'The most important thing is that no-one defines a career by those misses,' Persson added. 'In fact, it's the opposite – you have to grow in those situations.' Holmberg had stepped up after misses from team-mate Filippa Angeldahl and England trio Lauren James, Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood, among others. She needed to score to force an eighth round of penalties, but her effort sailed over the bar. England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who saved two spot-kicks and finished the match with a bloodied face after a collision earlier in the quarter-final, admitted the shootout was 'stressful' for all involved. 'Every time I saved one I was thinking, 'please just put it in so we have a bit of a cushion,' she told the BBC. 'Then their keeper saved the next one and I was thinking, "oh goodness, here we go."' England had looked dead and buried after falling 2-0 behind to first-half goals from Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius, but mounted a dramatic late comeback with goals in the 79th and 81st minutes from Bronze and teenage substitute Michelle Agyemang. The victory sent Sarina Wiegman's side into a fourth semi-final in five tournaments – and made them the first reigning champions since Germany in 2009 to reach the final four of the following Euros. England will face Italy in Geneva on Tuesday.
CNA
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Holmberg receives support from Ibrahimovic after spot-kick miss
BERN :Zlatan Ibrahimovic offered some words of support to teenaged defender Smilla Holmberg after her miss in Thursday's penalty shootout ended Sweden's Euro 2025 campaign in the quarter-finals following an astonishing defeat by England. Sweden were beaten 3-2 on penalties after 18-year-old Holmberg fired her effort high over the bar in an incredible shootout that featured 14 players taking spot kicks. Holmberg burst into tears after her miss as she headed back towards her crestfallen teammates but Swedish hero Ibrahimovic reached out to offer some comfort. "It was a sad daughter I held in my arms about an hour after the game," Holmberg's father Ola Persson told Swedish radio on Friday. "She is strong and she has received a lot of support from both the team, supporters, friends and relatives, she even got a text message from Zlatan here this morning." Sweden's record goal-scorer for the men's team is part-owner of Holmberg's Stockholm club Hammarby and the 43-year-old messaged the young defender to tell her to take the next penalty, and the next one, and to keep believing in herself.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England somehow beat Sweden in a genuine epic that had several chapters
Smilla Holmberg didn't even think she was meant to be on the pitch. The player who missed Sweden's decisive penalty had spent the first period of extra time hobbling around at right-back, having twisted her ankle making a brilliant last-ditch block on Alessia Russo's shot as England threatened to win the game 3-2 at the end of 90 minutes. At the break in extra time, Holmberg ran over towards the dugout, sat down, and stayed there. She was coming off, and reserve defender Amanda Nilden was summoned. But it turned out Nilden was actually coming on for left-back Jonna Andersson. Sweden were about to start the second half of extra time with ten players. It was only after frantic shouting from the other defenders that Holmberg, having presumably started to wind down, was told to get up and get back on. This chaotic moment summed up a remarkable football contest. 'I can't remember anything like this,' said England manager Sarina Wiegman after her team had fought back from 2-0 down to take the tie to extra-time and penalties, where they scraped through 3-2 in the shootout. It was a genuine epic that had several different chapters. There was the period when Sweden were threatening to blow away England. There was the period when England brought stability and played their way into the game. There was the period when England suddenly fought back and had momentum. There was an extra time period when Sweden had the better of things. And then the penalty drama was, in itself, a shootout of almost unprecedented twists and turns. Sweden's goalkeeper Jennifer Falk saved four penalties, yet ended on the losing side — in part because she missed one herself. Four separate Sweden players managed to hit the woodwork or miss the goal completely. That the ultimate failing was by Holmberg, 18, a month into her international career and a sudden national hero after scoring against Germany last week, was a particularly cruel way for an increasingly farcical contest to end. 'She's probably one of the best penalty takers in practice,' said her manager Peter Gerhardsson. Sweden should have won this match inside 90 minutes, and they should have won the penalty shootout too. Their tactics, based around heavy pressure high up the pitch, were not surprising. But somehow England seemed unprepared. Defender Jess Carter started particularly nervily, having conceded possession in the opening minutes even before her underhit pass caused panic and eventually resulted in Kosovare Asllani's opener. Carter looked unusually sluggish when Stina Blackstenius breezed past her for the second. At this point, Wiegman made a minor but crucial change: centre-backs Carter and Leah Williamson switched positions. This is the second time that Carter has changed positions in defence, having started the tournament at left-back and swapped places with Alex Greenwood. It feels like both switches were to hide Carter's weaknesses, but the defender deserves some sympathy; before this tournament she expressed frustration that she's developed a reputation as a jack-of-all-trades defender, and wonders what she might have become had she been allowed to nail down one position. Quietly, this change worked. Sweden didn't change their pressing patterns, and so England's free player was now the elegant Williamson rather than the nervy Carter. Williamson helped England play their way into the game — not to launch a fightback, simply to calm the tempo and stop England losing the game before half-time. '(Sweden) left that left side open and Jess was struggling a bit,' Wiegman said. 'With Leah, we were able to start our build-up.' The more dramatic changes came later. Much later. Criticised earlier in the tournament for always waiting until the hour mark — even Rachel Daly and Millie Bright mentioned the trend in their podcast — Wiegman waited until 70 minutes this time. It seemed the game was slipping away. And then she went all-out, making a treble change that meant England ended up with a back four, Keira Walsh on her own in midfield, and Lauren James floating behind a genuine front four. But it was the fourth substitution which proved crucial. Chloe Kelly, introduced down the left, twice delivered magnificent balls into the box, first for Lucy Bronze's far-post header, and then, after a loose ball, for fellow substitute Michelle Agyemang's equaliser. Like so many times at Euro 2022, Wiegman's decisions changed the game. But it was a three-step process. Her alterations stabilised the game, and then put England in charge, and then actually brought the goals. And, as Wiegman pointed out, there were other changes too. 'Beth Mead came on, and Chloe, and Michelle (Agyemang)…but also Esme (Morgan) came on and did really well. And Niamh Charles came on, and she made a crucial header (to stop Lina Hurtig heading home) at 2-2,' she said. 'And it's really hard to come on in that intensity. That shows the strength of this team.' Modern rules on substitutes — five permitted in normal time, and one more in extra time — favour the sides with strength in depth. Sweden simply don't have the playing resources to introduce top-quality reserves. They dominated extra time thanks to England's extraordinarily open system, but only seemed likely to score from a set-piece. Their fans, magnificent throughout this tournament, were particularly noisy in extra time due to the presence of a keen ringleader who started the chants: striker Blackstenius' boyfriend. It may sound harsh, but Sweden lost this as much as England won it; consistently refusing to take their opportunity to clinch victory. Their five missed penalties symbolise five missed opportunities to win a trophy during Gerhardsson's reign having reached the latter stages: two World Cups, two European Championships and an Olympic final shootout in 2021 that was almost as daft as this one. Back then, midfielder Caroline Seger missed when a goal would have clinched gold. They missed four of their six penalties that day — four different players to the five who missed here. Sweden's players tried to find comfort from family members at full-time, although realistically their relatives seemed no less upset. It was difficult to find anyone capable of retaining a stiff upper lip. The one exception was Mila — 11 months old, daughter of centre-back Amanda Ilestedt, and putting smiles on faces of some of the defeated players. The only Swede not distraught was the one who had no idea what had just happened. 'We're in football because of drama,' said Gerhardsson, who had taken charge of his final game in charge. 'If there was a setlist, you wouldn't be here. That's football. It's unpredictable…emotions…feelings. That's something you need to accept.' When asked what he was up to next, Gerhardsson thought for a second. 'Back to the hotel,' he said. 'To watch the game again.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. England, Sweden, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
