England came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 before beating Sweden 3-2 in a nail-biting penalty shootout to reach the semifinals of the Women’s European Championship, with Sweden’s Smilla Holmberg firing over to end the contest.
Stina Blackstenius teed up Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani to score in the second minute after England gave the ball away cheaply, and Blackstenius then out-ran Jess Carter to score with a confident finish herself in the 25th minute.
Lucy Bronze pulled a goal back for England in the 79th minute, meeting Chloe Kelly’s cross and heading home from a tight angle to re-ignite the white-clad fans in the crowd and substitute Michelle Agyemang levelled two minutes later with a superb poacher’s finish to send the game to extra time.
It is the first time in the history of the Women’s Euros that a team has fought back from two goals down in a knockout match.
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Both sides had their fair share of chances in extra time but the game went to penalties.
Swedish keeper Jennifer Falk saved four spot kicks, the most ever in a Women’s Euro shootout, but skied the potentially decisive penalty over the bar.
Bronze fired England into the lead and Holmberg skied her attempt as the champions reached their fourth semifinal in the last five Euros.
Sarina Wiegman’s team also become the first champions since Germany in 2009 to make it beyond the quarterfinals at the following tournament.
Information from Reuters and ESPN Research was used in this report.
