England edge Sweden on penalties to reach Women’s Euro semi-final | OneFootball

England beat Sweden 3-2 on penalties in the quarter-final of the Women’s European Championship on Thursday night, after a 2-2 draw in regulation time. England got off to a horrible start as defender Jess Carter gave the ball away, allowing Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius to tee up Kosovare Asllani to give Sweden the lead inside the second minute of the game.Sweden almost doubled their lead moments later, when goalkeeper Hannah Hampton failed to control a pass, but a timely intervention from Leah Williamson denied them a scoring opportunity.England’s first meaningful attack ended with forward Lauren Hemp hitting the crossbar.Blackstenius doubled the Sweden lead in the 25th minute, getting behind England’s defence to slot the ball into the net.Hampton was forced to make a save in the first half stoppage time, denying Barcelona defender Fridolina Rolfo from scoring.England looked sharp after the restart, with Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone forcing goalkeeper Jennifer Falk to make a save, though the move was ruled offside. Hemp came close to pulling one back when she flashed her header wide from Lauren James’ delivery.On 54 minutes, Hampton made a great save to deny Blackstenius the chance to get a brace from a swift counter-attack.The Lionesses reduced the deficit in the 79th minute through Lucy Bronze, who headed substitute Chloe Kelly’s cross home at the far post.Two minutes later, the defending champions completed the comeback when Kelly delivered an excellent cross, allowing Arsenal teenager Michelle Agyemang to put the ball home and force the game to extra-time.Both teams did not create meaningful chances during extra time, taking the game into the penalties, where England triumphed.The defending champions will now face Italy on Tuesday in the semi-final.