Sweden 2-2 England (Asllani 2′, Blackstenius 25′ | Bronze 79′, Agyemang 81′) – Lionesses win 3-2 on pens
ZURICH – It is easy to see why other nations find It’s coming home at best, an irritating din and at worst, horribly presumptuous. Yet on a night when England’s Euro 2025 dream was so very nearly ripped to shreds, it was impossible for their fans not to start believing.
Through equal glimpses of glory and pain over the past fortnight, the Lionesses the nation fell in love with three years ago have never lost their fight. The start was abject, the fightback remarkable. That tantalising third successive major tournament final is now within touching distance after an unforgettable victory over Sweden on spot-kicks, Lucy Bronze scoring the decisive penalty.
Alex Greenwood, Lauren James, Beth Mead and Grace Clinton had all missed but this felt written in the stars. Just as well the old A-B-B-A system has been abolished.
Absolute euphoria!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 17, 2025
Lucy Bronze buries her penalty and Smilla Holmberg cannot hit the target – sending England through to the semi-finals! #BBCFootball #WEuro2025 pic.twitter.com/zXqD6IhIMz
The Swedes must have believed they had banished the champions without so much as a struggle after 25 opening minutes of English sleepwalking and sloppiness.
Sarina Wiegman’s side had been bullied, outfought and out-thought, until Bronze and Michelle Agyemang engineered a second-half revival.
An appalling opening was England at their most chaotic, their worst traits congealing into a fever dream reminiscent of the disasterclass in the group stages against France.
Inside two minutes a floundering Jess Carter’s lax passes were seized upon twice, Keira Walsh then ceding possession so that a grateful Stina Blackstenius could tee up Kosovare Asllani – star of the newly-promoted London City Lionesses. One Lioness showing a little composure, at least.
The same horrorshow preceded Sweden’s second, Carter beaten again by Blackstenius, who this time finished it in the bottom corner.
Leah Williamson is a captain who knows how to rally with her lungs, screaming frantically into the impromptu huddle as England searched desperately for answers. She swapped around with Carter, shunting to the left of the centre-back pairing.
England finally came out fighting after the break, getting James onto the ball and throwing on Agyemang. The momentum tweaked enough for Chloe Kelly’s cross to find the head of Bronze, before Agyemang poked in the equaliser as it bobbled around the box on just her third England cap.
The hype about the Arsenal teenager absolutely has to be believed – of all the ample attacking options on the bench there is a reason Wiegman turns to her when it matters most.
England cannot say they did not get plenty of warning shots, however, and they cannot afford to play like this again if they are to go all the way. Despite comprehensive victories over the Netherlands and Wales, the first-half performance looks dangerously like the rule, not the exception when they come up against a well-organised side.
There are still gaping holes in their succession plans for too many positions. Their Nations League campaigns were riddled with inconsistencies. At very few points since reaching the World Cup final in 2023 has anybody looked at this team and believed they were really the best the continent has to offer.
The fact remains they are potentially 180 minutes from their greatest achievement yet, one which would far outshine their triumph of 2022 given the journey it has taken to get there.
So perhaps it is not “proper England” but the “new England” that should offer real hope and fresh optimism about what Wiegman’s valiant troops can achieve as they prepare to face Italy in Geneva in the last four next week. Nobody embodies it better than the 19-year-old Agyemang, a bona fide superstar in the making. It does not always have to be the hope that kills.
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