England beat Sweden 3-2 on penalties in the quarter-final of the Women’s European Championship on Thursday night, after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
They made a dreadful start as defender Jess Carter gave the ball away, allowing Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius to tee up Kosovare Asllani to give Sweden the lead inside the second minute.
Sweden almost doubled their lead moments later when goalkeeper Hannah Hampton failed to control a pass, but a timely intervention from Leah Williamson denied them a scoring opportunity.
England’s first meaningful attack ended with forward Lauren Hemp hitting the crossbar.
Blackstenius doubled Sweden’s lead in the 25th minute, getting behind England’s defence to slot the ball into the net.
Hampton was forced to make a save in the first half stoppage time, denying Barcelona defender Fridolina Rolfo from scoring.
England looked sharp after the restart, with Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone forcing goalkeeper Jennifer Falk to make a save, though the move was ruled offside.
Hemp came close to pulling one back when she flashed her header wide from Lauren James’ delivery.
Hampton made a great save in the 54th minute to deny Blackstenius the chance to score from a swift counter-attack.
The Lionesses reduced the deficit in the 79th minute through Lucy Bronze, who headed substitute Chloe Kelly’s cross home at the far post.
The defending champions completed the comeback when Kelly delivered an excellent cross, allowing Arsenal teenager Michelle Agyemang to force the game to extra time.
The game went to a penalty shoot-out after the additional period, and England triumphed. They will now face Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday.
