Player rating as Sembrant decides Euro 2022 quarter-final in stoppage time
Sweden needed an injury-time goal from centre-back Linda Sembrant to beat a stubborn Belgium and reach the semi-finals of Euro 2022.
The Red Flames put up a hell of a fight and dug deep to frustrate the tournament favourites, but were undone at the death and Blagult will now face England in the last four next week.
Belgium started brightly and with confidence, but the first chance went Sweden’s way when Filippa Angeldal’s 20-yard strike forced Nicky Evrard into a stretch save.
A mistake at the back by Laura Deloose gave Angldal another chance to score, but this time her shot sailed just wide.
Sweden’s early pressure continued as Amanda Ilestedt’s header was parried by Evrard, and Stina Blackstenius couldn’t control the rebound from just yards and Belgium almost cleared their lines.
Nathalie Bjorn was wide after an Amanda Nilden corner fell kindly to her at the far post, before Sweden thought they had taken the lead through Blackstenius moments later after Kosovare Asllani pierced the Belgian defense with a delicate through ball on the counterattack. However, a prolonged VAR check revealed that the Arsenal forward was offside and the goal was chalked off.
Justine Vanhaevermaet hit a shot wide at the other end as the Red Flames looked to hit Sweden on the break, while Evrard had to be alert to keep Blackstenius out of reach again after a dangerous corner.
Just after the half-time break, Evrard held firm to keep out a Fridolina Rolfo volley, and another header from Ilestedt rattled the bar again – although this time an offside flag was raised.
Sweden maintained their pressure throughout the second half but found it tough to break down Belgium’s deeper defensive unit.
Blackstenius was again thwarted by Evrard as she knocked her header away from just meters out once again, while Belgium missed a huge chance to take the lead when Tine De Caigny failed to advance on goal when faced with only Hedvig Lindahl.
Substitute Elena Dhont hit a speculative shot into the side netting as the game opened up in the dying stages.
But Belgium’s hearts were broken as extra time loomed as Sembrant poked home from a corner to set up a mouth-watering clash with England in Sheffield in the semi-finals.
GK: Hedvig Lindahl – 6/10 – Her distribution was excellent, while she was rarely anxious.
RB: Amanda Ilestedt – 7/10 – Came forward with real intent and was undoubtedly more threatening than Rytting Kaneryd.
CB: Linda Sembrant – 7/10 – Caught dabbling occasionally but not too much. Made a well deserved winner.
CB: Magdalena Eriksson – 7/10 – Pretty much back after an early scare.
LB: Amanda Nilden – 6/10 – Not as busy as Ilestedt in any way.
CM: Filippa Angeldal – 7/10 – Constantly caused problems for Belgium in the final third.
CM: Kosovar Asllani – 9/10 – A genius. Often created chances out of thin air and danced his way across the pitch.
CM: Nathalie Björn – 6/10 – Wasn’t as industrious as his midfield partners.
RW: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd – 6/10 – Supported attacks but was hardly the main character in them.
CF: Stina Blackstenius – 7/10 – A constant threat to the Belgian back line. Unlucky that her goal didn’t stand up.
LW: Fridolina Rolfo – 7/10 – Played a backseat role to Asllani’s forward runs in the first half but was involved much more after the break.
SUB: Hanna Bennison (84′, CM for Angeldal) – 6/10
GK: Nicky Evrard – 9/10 – Routinely came to the rescue for the Red Flames. Hard to believe she’s only a semi-professional player and rents out bouncy castles in her spare time.
RB: Laura Deloose – 4/10 – Often caught in possession and was lucky not to be outright punished.
CB: Sari Kees – 6/10 – Tried to limit Asllani and Angeldal to shots from distance.
CB: Laura De Neve – 7/10 – An impressive performance from the Anderlecht defender, sweeping up and playing from the back.
LB: Davina Philtjens – 7/10 – Used his experience well to slow down Sweden’s right side. Would have been suspended for the semi-final after receiving a booking.
CM: Julie Biesmans – 5/10 – Booked for a cynical foul on Asllani. Grew into the game after that but stayed in the wars.
CM: Justine Vanhaevermaet – 7/10 – Clearly has an impressive presence and should have been utilized even more.
CM: Marie Minnaert – 5/10 – Carved out some of Belgium’s best chances.
RW: Tine De Caigny – 4/10 – Provided very little.
CF: Tessa Wullaert – 5/10 – Was often isolated wherever she was in Belgium’s liquid attack but was a useful point of contact.
LW: Janice Cayman – 4/10 – Probably should have helped a little more to go the other way. Eventually it was forced when he was switched to right back.
SUB: Elena Dhont (67′, RW for Deloose) – 6/10
SUB: Kassandra Missipo (88′, CM for Biesmans) – 5/10