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English celebrations after the 4-0 win, the fifth win in five tournament games
Photo Credit: IMAGO/Nick Potts / IMAGO/PA Images
Scene of the match:
The Swedes had had chance after chance at the beginning of the first semi-final of the European Championship in Sheffield, but the goal came the other way: Lucy Bronze had crossed from the right and Beth Mead scored her sixth goal of the tournament (34th minute) .
There are goals that are said to have turned the game upside down.
This was one.
Result:
England won 4-0 (1-0) against Sweden and are in the final of the European Championship in their own country.
Here is the match report.
First half:
After just 20 seconds, Sofia Jakobsson fired from the inside left and England goalkeeper Mary Earps made a powerful save with her foot.
Shortly thereafter, it was Earps again who was just able to clear Stina Blackstenius' attempt to a corner.
The Swedish offensive player headed the following cross on the crossbar (8'/9'), Fridolina Rölfö hit the side netting five minutes later (14').
And England?
Scored the first dangerous attack to make it 1-0 (34').
Mysterious plan:
In the run-up to the game, the Swedish daily newspaper
»
Svenska Dagbladet
«
reported a
»
mysterious plan
«
whispered by national coach Peter Gerhardsson.
The 62-year-old did not disappoint: Jakobsson, who slipped into the team and had not played a minute before in this tournament, almost gave her team the lead in the first minute.
The 32-year-old ex-FC Bayern player repeatedly put England's bronze star player under pressure.
It was widely expected that the Swedes would focus on Bronze's colleague Rachel Daly at the other end of defence, who was dizzily played against Spain in the quarter-finals.
Gerhardsson's surprising plan, at least it worked offensively.
30 minutes long.
Second half:
The Swedes had two days less preparation time than their opponents going into this semi-final.
And this disadvantage, coupled with the shock of the goal conceded, seemed omnipresent at the beginning of the second 45 minutes.
England now quicker – and again accurate: A cross from Mead sailed over the entire defense to the head of Bronze, who placed the ball nicely in the left corner of the goal (48th).
Shortly afterwards, Lauren Hemp missed the 3-0 when she only hit the crossbar from close range (57th).
Substitute Alessia Russo did that, who first failed to hit Hedvig Lindahl, only to then hoe through the legs of the Swedish goalkeeper in the follow-up shot (68th)
–
the
Goals from the previous tournament.
Fran Kirby made it 4-0 with a lob after a Lindahl error (76').
Wiegman is a guarantee of success:
In 2017, the Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman led her home country to the European Championship title as a coach.
She won six games in six games.
At the next tournament she has five wins from five matches.
The 52-year-old is one win away from her second perfect European Championship finals.
The bookmakers should no longer accept bets on the starting line-up: against Sweden, the same eleven players were on the field at the start for the fifth time.
Party crasher prevented:
Sweden's national coach Gerhardsson had inflicted two painful defeats on Wiegman's predecessor Phil Neville, and he couldn't avoid Wiegman either.
In 2019 he lost 1-0 to the then Dutch national coach in the World Cup semi-finals, and in 2022 he was the last male coach to retire from the tournament.
The genius off the bench:
23-year-old Russo came off the bench for the fifth time and scored for the fourth time.
Not only because of the beauty of her back-heel, the Manchester United attacker is considered by many to be a better option than long-term starter Ellen White.
But Wiegman, as mentioned, relies on the tried and tested.
Blessed is the one who can bring his supposedly best scorer when the opponents are already tired from the presence of White.
Final:
Who the English women meet in the final will be decided in the second semi-final between Germany and France (Wednesday, 9 p.m., TV: ZDF, Stream: Dazn).
The European Championship title will then be played on Sunday in the already sold-out Wembley Stadium (6 p.m., TV: ARD, Stream: Dazn).
