Kyei Manu 
Story By: Kyei Manu
The reigning UEFA Women’s European Champions England, put up a spirited performance in the quarterfinals to edge out Sweden in the ongoing Women’s European tournament.
What was thought to be over for England yesterday seemed not to be, but they came from behind in normal time to earn a 2-2 draw with Sweden before winning on a 3-2 penalty shootout to reach the Euro 2025 semi-finals.
Sweden’s goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, had looked set to be the heroine after four penalty saves, but after missing her own spot-kick, it was eventually Lucy Bronze who was rather crowned the heroine.
Sweden scored first two minutes into the game through Keira Walsh’s pass to Stina Blackstenius who squared a neat ball to an unmarked Kosovare Asllani, who picked out the bottom-left corner of the post.
The Lioness who struggled in the opening six minutes to find their rhythm, Sweden took advantage of the situation, with Blackstenius racing in behind the England’s defence to drive a low shot under Hampton into the left side of the net.
During the second half, Sarina Wiegman brought on a renewed energy from the bench to turned the tide, with Chloe Kelly taking just 63 seconds to make an impact. She rode on a beautiful cross and shot into the far post in the 79th minute connecting to Bronze who headed home to pull a goal back.
However, two minutes later, England got their equaliser through Michelle Agyemang who scored from close range with Kelly making the assist.
The battle to find the winner continued in extra time with Sweden making more of the attack until the referee blew the final whistle. England started the shootout well courtesy Alessia Russo before Hampton denied Filippa Angeldahl, but the Lionesses then saw three consecutive spot-kicks saved by Falk.
England exhibited a true fighting spirit to ensure their title defence stayed alive by qualifying to the semi’s. This is the second time the Lioness have avoided defeat at the Euros when down by two or more goals, defeating Russia 3-2 in the 2009 group stage.
The stage is therefore set for England to meet Italy on Tuesday night in Zurich.
