England kept their UEFA ladies euro title defense alive with a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over Sweden, after a 2-2 draw in a nerve-racking quarter-final tie.
The missed penalty from Smilla Holmberg saw England take a 3-2 victory over sudden death sentences who saw nine combined misses of both teams in the shootout, which was eventually won by Lucy’s Bronze’s penultimate kick of the shootout.
Kosovare Asllani scored the opening goal of Sweden with a second minute strike of a short pass by Stina Blackstenius who had intercepted Jess Carter’s sloppy pass.
Blackstenius herself doubled the lead of Sweden of a 25th minute through the ball by Julia Zigiotti Olme, who saw her carter beat for pace to place her goal in the left corner.
The 79th minute Header from Bronze and the close-range effort by Michelle Agyemang in the 81st minute, however, withdrew England to force extra time, because the Leeuwineses of Sarina Wiegman eventually became the first team that won from 2-0 down in the knockout phases of this competition.
Italy is now waiting in England in Stade de Geneva, Geneva, on Tuesday 22 July at 9 p.m. CEST (20:00 UK Time).
Hannah Hampton spoke with BBC after the game, the goalkeeper of England, was happy that England did not write the draw 2-0 and fought for a worthy victory.
“It all went so fast, that last bit of the penalty shootout. We are very happy. The fans knew we could bring this back and you never write to us.”
Hampton, however, admitted that the shootout was ‘stressful’ for her mentally, but joked that her nose made her a better player in extra time.
“Stressful. Looking stressful, playing stressful. Every time I saved one, I just thought” just in it so that we have a bit of a pillow. “Their keeper just started saving the next and I thought” oh goodness, here we’re going. “
“I think I was better at the game when I had one nostril than when it was all right! Just happy and relieved now.”
Feeded by the heartache of their semi-final defeat on the 2022 tournament and behind the back of a ruthless comeback view against Germany to Top Group C, Sweden immediately terrorized the defense of England in the opening minute and won a throw-in that came in nothing.
However, England did not succeed in that warning as only 104 seconds after the start whistle, Asllani, the Swedes in front with a quiet composed strike in the top left corner via Blackstenius’ pass after having intercepted Carter’s sloppy pass.
The opener of Asllani also marked the fastest time that England ever had admitted in a knockout match at the UEFA Women’s Euro.
Sweden almost doubled their lead in the fifth minute after Hampton gathered the Keira Walsh backpass and was intercepted by Blackstenius, whose shot was blocked by her Arsenal teammate, Leah Williamson.
England eventually gathered their first attack a minute later when a movement was brought back to Walsh that was fired for Lauren Hemp, but Jennifer Falk cruced the dinking shot on the bar to protect the lead of Sweden.
Sweden nevertheless continued to enjoy possession, although a 17th minute cross of Johanna Rytting-Kanyd was blocked to Asllani who tried a long shot, but the delivery was comfortably saved by Hampton.
Carter, however, again proved the downfall of England after she had not marked the Blackstenius Sliprun to jump through the ball on Zigiotti Olme, so that the striker released to surpass her and to unleash the second goal of Sweden in the far bottom left corner.
England therefore started with more urgency, but struggled to bring the defense of Sweden into trouble, while Hampton crucially held their deficit in the first minute of injury time with a deflective blow to refuse Fridolina Rolfo.
No team had recovered from a shortage with two goals in a knockout match within this competition and England almost started to change that record in the 49th minute when Hemp Ted Ella Toone, whose shot was blocked by Falk, despite the fact that the midfielder of England was sidelined.
Hemp then missed a chance on her own two minutes later when she went wide goal from the cross of Alessia Russo in another frustrating wasting last touch.
Those two wasted chances were almost punished in the 55th minute from a ball through Asllani to Blackstenius, with the attacker who killed Carter and Williamson, but her shot was blocked by Hampton.
England was able to win a 59th minute of penalty after Walsh’s Kruis was kinked by Nathalie Bjorn on her own right hand, but the Spanish referee-Marta Huerta the Aza Stone-Cold calls of handball and video assistant referee did not try to destroy her decision.
Sweden, however, had rejected their own penalty claims four minutes later after the approval of Walsh became the right hand of Bronze, although the hand of Bronze was correct by her side, which meant that VAR could not intervene.
England saw two consecutive chances denied when the header of Bronze was saved before Filippa Angeldahl blocked the shot of Toone as Sweden who are in defensive grooves in the midst of a period of replacements of both teams.
Wiegman’s gamble to replace hemp with Kelly in the 78th minute, although a game change turned out, because the last England brought in life barely a minute later, thanks to a deep cross that bronze found unark to knock in a header in an extremely right pair.
However, Kelly was not ready because two minutes later she dragged the English level at the level with a cross that colleague replacement, Beth Mead to nod down for Agyemang to go inside to restore parity that led a tense finish around the stadium in Zurich.
The defensive vulnerability of England, however, almost blew out their fightingback when Esme Morgan played a sloppy 88th minute Pass to Bronze, who intercepted Madelen Janogy, but her shot was hit by Hampton to keep the deficiency defense of the Lionesses alive.
Russo, however, missed a chance to seal a comeback victory in the last minute of injury time while tore a shot wide from Agyemang’s Square-Ball Pass.
Sweden, however, came up again in the first half of the extra time after Lauren James’ shot was blocked the shot of 95th minutes, but Bjorn went wide three minutes later when the defense of England came in to keep the 1984 champions at bay.
Janogy almost yielded a winner of the 110th minute, but her shot was blocked when the lion ribbons continued the waves of Swedish attacks.
Just like at the end of the normal time, RUSSO wasted opportunities to complete a comeback while she shot wide from Kelly’s injury time free kick after Mead was polluted by Amanda Nilden, before she flashed a false of Falk’s Tamme Flappy Klappy declaration of a cross.
Russo sent the first place of England, but Angeldahl saw the first Spot-Kick from Sweden saved before Falk dived correctly to refuse the shots of James and Mead to the left corner on either side of Zigiotti’s equal penalty.
Magdalena Eriksson missed a chance to put Sweden forward while she hit the right post before Falk Alex Greenwood denied who had gone to the opposite right corner.
Bjorn therefore brought Sweden ahead of their fourth penalty with a strike in the middle, but Kelly yielded the fifth penalty from England to set up a tense last penalty for Falk, but the Swedish keeper shot her shot to send the shooting to sudden death on 2-2 each.
Grace Clinton and Sofia Jakobsson saw the first pair of sudden killings denied before Bronze hit the second penalty of England over the bar.
Holmberg, however, shot her penalty over the bar to send Sweden away while England scattered, despite one of their most difficult versions, but crucial with a 100% record on penalty shootouts under Wiegman intact.
Wiegman After the game, BBC explained that the game was a “difficult” watch on the touchline, but was relieved to reach a historical comeback.
“It was difficult. One of the most difficult games I have ever viewed. Very emotional. We could have been four or five times during the game. If you are 2-0 during the break, it is not good.
“We really started badly and then we got better at the end of the first half 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 already crazy.
“Then we go to extra time, some players injured, some players cramps, Hannah Hampton with blood everywhere.
“Then we go to the penalty shootout and we miss a lot, but they miss even more and we are through it.”
Teams
Sweden: Jennifer Falk, Hannnah Lundkvist (Holmberg 61 ′), Nathalie Bjorn, Magdalena Eriksson, Jonna Andersson (Nilden 105 ′), Filippa Angeldahl, Kosovare Asllani (Hurtig 78 ′), Julia Kaneryd Kanertinging Kanyd Kaneryd 117 ′), Fridolina Rolfo (Janogy 78 ′)
Substitutions: Hanna Bennison, Rebecka Blomqvist, Tove Enblom, Smilla Holmberg, Emma Holmgren, Lina Hurges, Amanda Ilestedt, Sofia Jakobson, Madelen Janogy, Amanda Nilden, Linda Sembrant, Ellen Wangerheim, Julia ZigiiTme
England: Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson (Charles 105′), Jess Carter (Morgan 70′), Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway (Agyemang 70′), Keira Walsh (Clinton 104′, Ella Toone (Mead 70′), Lauren James, Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp (Kelly 78′)
Replacements: Niamh Charles, Beth Mead, Maya le Tissier, Anna Moorhouse, Grace Clinton, Esme Morgan, Michelle Agyemang, Chloe Kelly, Aggie Beever-Jones, Jess Park, Khiara Keating, Lotte Wubben-Moy
Referee – Marta Huerta de Aza (Spain)
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