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 shoot-out to reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Euros, 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.

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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.

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 and skied the potentially decisive penalty over the bar, but Lucy Bronze fired England into the lead and Holmberg skied her attempt as the champions went through to the last four.