England beat Sweden on penalties to reach Women’s Euro semis

ZURICH - 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 semi-finals of the Women’s Euro, with Sweden’s Smilla Holmberg firing over to end the contest.

In all, Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk saved four penalties, but she skied the potentially winning spot kick over the bar, throwing a lifeline to the reigning European champions that they gleefully grabbed, Lucy Bronze firing them into the lead before Holmberg’s sorry miss.

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.

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.

Both sides had their fair share of chances in extra time but the game went to penalties, and though the Swedes missed their first spot kick, Falk’s superb saves soon put them in the driving seat.

She had the chance to win it but she sent her kick high over the bar, and though she saved from Grace Clinton, Bronze beat her from the spot.

After Sofia Jakobsson’s miss, the pressure proved too much for the 18-year-old Holmberg, who fired over.

“Right now, I don’t know, I don’t know,” England keeper Hannah Hampton said, when asked how she felt after the dramatic victory.

“It’s just all gone so quick, like that last little bit in the penalty shootout, but... we’re very happy, obviously, you can see all the celebrations going around.” REUTERS