England had not reached a major final since their 6-2 defeat by Germany in Helsinki at Euro 2009 and that team’s terrier-like midfield trio of Fran Kirby, Georgia Stanway and Kiera Walsh needed half an hour before they figure out how to shrug. physical and quick Sweden marking that kept the crowd of 28,624 eager. But Beth Mead’s sixth goal of the tournament added to the pressure of the occasion before a Lucy Bronze header, an outrageous backheel from Alessia Russo and a Kirby chip saw the team off in style in Sunday’s final at Wembley. Swedish fans have been eagerly waiting for their players to click in this European Championship. The 5-0 rout of Portugal, the team called up in place of Russia, the Scandinavian team looked like a shadow of the team that humiliated England in the bronze medal match at the 2019 World Cup and it was a penalty. away from Olympic gold in Tokyo last summer. But whoever wrote Sweden would be naive to do so. Because while they haven’t seen their best, Sweden’s rare struggles in recent years have come against teams that have fallen behind. A 92nd-minute winner against Belgium spared them an embarrassing quarter-final exit from relative European minnows – but in England, they were given a semi-final opponent far more suited to their style of play. “We will leave everything on the pitch, every drop of sweat,” warned returning Kosovar Aslani, who had recovered from Covid. “England have played fantastic football in this tournament so far, but at the same time we feel it’s a game that will suit us. We are very well prepared.” Asllani bristled with indignant confidence at questions that she might not be fit and ready for the game at Bramall Lane, a home for England but also familiar to Sweden, with the team having played two group games there. That exasperation spilled onto the pitch, the towering midfielder engaged in a physical and fiery battle with the scorer of England’s extra-time winner against Spain, Stanway. It was a nervous start for England against a team so convinced of success that they had a tactical analysis of how to beat them sewn into the tags of their shirts and a banner reading ‘See you at Wembley’ spread across the stands in the quarter-final and semi-final. Mary Earps and Millie Bright celebrate England’s victory on a rousing night at Bramall Lane. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian Just 20 seconds into the game and the Lionesses were in trouble. Stanway was taken away in midfield by Fridalina Rolfo. She combined with Sofia Jakobsson who eluded Millie Bright and headed home, but Mary Earps was quick to react and put the ball away with her left foot. It was a frantic and physical start from Sweden and England struggled to find a rhythm. The host nation couldn’t handle the combination of Barcelona’s Rolfö and Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius on the right, with Bronze, so used to getting forward, repeatedly beaten by the pair. Bronze had warned of the threat of Rolfö, who plays left-back for Barça but has been used further up front at the Euros, saying they are “not always the best wingers to face when they know how to defend properly”. . England were not without chances, a superb ball at the far post was met by Meade in the fifth minute and the striker headed wide, but the threat from Sweden was ever-present. But if there’s one thing Sweden allow their opponents, it’s space and the more England got, the more relaxed the players in white looked. In the 36th minute they took a decisive lead against the series of the match. A cross from Lauren Hemp eluded Ellen White in the middle, but Bronze kept the drive alive and fed it back to the unmarked Mead, who turned and hammered the ball past Hedvig Lindahl, despite the fact that the goalkeeper pushed the hand to the ball. The impact was immediate. It was as if a cloak of fear had been lifted from the players by the force of the ball hitting the back of the net and the roof-raising celebrations. England were on the rise. Within three minutes of the restart they had doubled their lead, this time well into the run of play. Meade curled a corner towards the far post from the left and an unmarked Bronze, atoning for her earlier wobble, headed down and flew between White’s legs before sweeping past Lindal. Subscribe to Moving the Goalposts, our women’s soccer newsletter. England’s players had said they always believed they would come back against Spain, that they felt calm amid the anxiety of the crowds and fans glued to televisions across the country. Against Sweden they had found a way to get through much earlier and the hustle and bustle of the group stage began to flow through their veins. Super-sub Russo was welcomed into the fray by the enthusiastic crowd and within 11 minutes she had scored her fourth goal in five substitute appearances. It was completely daring. Kirby teed up the Manchester United forward and her effort was saved by Lindal, but Russo latched on to the rebound, was forced wide and sent a backheel through the legs of the hilarious Lindal and in. Alessia Russo’s backheel beat Hedvig Lindahl for what was sure to be the goal of the tournament. Photo: Carl Recine/Reuters With 13 minutes left on the clock, Kirby turned it into a corner, attempting to send a chip over Lindal, which the keeper got two hands behind – but that only slowed the ball on its way to the net. England – who have scored 104 goals in 19 games under Sarina Wigman – will play the winner of the second semi-final between Germany and France on Wednesday night.
