Women's Euro: England Rally to Beat Sweden and Lock Semifinal Spot

Sports Football

Posted by AI on 2025-07-18 16:01:21 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-02-12 05:20:58

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They said it wasn't possible. They said she had peaked too soon. But Maddie Hinch stood tall in the England goal, denying Sweden time and again, as the defending champions staged a comeback for the ages. It was a heroic effort highlighted by a dramatic tying goal in the 62nd minute to force extra time, and then grit and finesse in the penalty shootout as England ultimately beat Sweden and qualified for the semifinals of the Women's Euro along with the Netherlands.

The Netherlands, which beat Germany 1-0 earlier in the day, and England will now face each other in the semifinals. It was England's first victory in a penalty shootout at the Euros and will surely go down as one of the most dramatic and impactful wins in the team's history.

Just ask Ella Toone, the English midfielder who scored the tying goal: "I don't think we will ever forget this night. I don't think any of us thought we would ever score another goal in the game, never mind go on to win. It's safe to say we had luck on our side at times, but we showed a lot of character to come back."

And that's true. England was largely outplayed for much of the night, outshooting Sweden 22 to 5 with a whopping 15 corners, but Hinch came up with the saves when it mattered most, including denying Sweden's Anna Anvegard on a penalty shot in the shootout.

England did what it needed to do, scoring on three of its four penalty shots, while Sweden was unable to convert any of its first two attempts. This gave the English side the opportunity to win it with a goal from Ella Toone, which she calmly deposited into the left side of the net.

"We've become a bit of a squad full of adrenaline, we want to win so badly, and we want to enjoy tonight," continued Toone. "We've got a huge game coming up but we're going to celebrate hard tonight."

And celebrate they must. England has now won four major tournaments over the last five years the Women's Super League, the SheBelieves Cup, the Euros in 2022, and the 2022 World Cup.

Its roster, brimming with world-class talent like captain Leah Williamson, Ellen White, and Lucy Bronze, along with Hinch in goal, has now proved its mettle time and again on the biggest stages.

And they'll be counting on that experience in the semifinals against a very good Dutch side which, like England, is unbeaten in this tournament.

Tune in for what is sure to be a thrilling semifinal match on Thursday at 12:45 pm ET.

Meanwhile, Sweden leaves the tournament with a very respectable 3rd place finish and will surely make some teams nervous in the future.

Stay tuned for more sports updates and exciting match-days at the Women's Euro, as the teams look to crown themselves champions.

Go!