Euro 2025: England women's team wins thrilling victory over Sweden in quarter-finals

(NLDO) – Trailing by 2 goals until the 79th minute, the England women's team equalized within 103 seconds and then beat Sweden in a penalty shootout, winning a ticket to the semi-finals.

Not rated as highly as Sweden despite being the defending champion of the tournament, in the quarter-final match at Letzigrund Stadium (Switzerland) in the early morning of July 17, the England women's team soon faced many difficulties.

Just two minutes after the kick-off, the Nordic team opened the scoring thanks to Kosovane Asllani's precise finish. The veteran centre-back, in her 50th international appearance, became the oldest player to score in a women's Euro finals at the age of 35 years and 353 days.

Kosovane Asllani (9) opened the scoring early for Sweden

In the 25th minute, England's defense continued to make mistakes, allowing Stina Blackstenius to score to increase the score to 2-0. This promising start created great motivation for Sweden to play aggressively against their opponents for most of the quarter-final match.

Stina Blackstenius doubled the lead for the Nordic team after just 25 minutes

With no way back, coach Sarina Wiegman continuously directed the England team to push up their attacking formation in the second half. It was not until the 79th minute that the turning point appeared.

Defender Lucy Bronze rushed forward to attack, diving to head the ball close to the goal to shorten the gap to 1-2 after a cross from substitute Chloe Kelly.

Lucy Bronze (2) headed the ball close to the goal, shortening the score to 1-2 for England.

Just 103 seconds later, the Letzigrund Stadium erupted with cheers as 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang – a new substitute – levelled the score from a quick counter-attack. Agyemang’s first England goal in three appearances sent the game into extra time as neither side could find the net again.

Michelle Agyemang equalized 2-2, sending the match into extra time

During the 30 minutes of extra time, both teams played more cautiously, focusing more on defending their goal than on finding scoring opportunities. Entering the penalty shootout, the drama reached its peak when both teams failed to score, with only 5/14 kicks being successful.

England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton became a hero when she saved two decisive penalties, winning the "Man of the Match" award.

Goalkeeper Hannah Hampton excelled in the England goal

The paradoxical highlight was that Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk – who saved 4 penalty kicks – missed her team's 5th penalty. On England's side, Lucy Bronze once again made her mark when she successfully took the final kick, the 7th, to seal a 3-2 victory for the "Three Lions".

Hannah Hampton won the "Player of the Match" award.

The thrilling win helped England become the first team in the history of the Euro finals to come back from 0-2 down in the knockout stages. After the match, captain Leah Williamson said emotionally: "I'm proud of the whole team. We never gave up."

England reach Euro semi-finals for second consecutive time

With this victory, coach Sarina Wiegman and her team have secured a ticket to the semi-finals, where they will face the Italian team in Geneva on July 22. This is the second consecutive time that the England women's team has made it to the last 4 of Europe's strongest teams.

The Swedish women's team left the tournament in regret after being so close to victory but could not overcome the bravery of the "Three Lions" female warriors from the land of fog.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/euro-2025-nguoc-dong-ngoan-muc-tuyen-nu-anh-thang-nghet-tho-thuy-dien-o-tu-ket-196250718065041242.htm