Sweden set up England’s semi-final with a late win over Belgium
Linda Sembrant’s dramatic stoppage-time winner gave Sweden a 1-0 win over Belgium and the chance to face England in the semi-finals of Euro 2022.
Stina Blackstenius was denied a goal by VAR midway through the first half and Sweden had to wait until the dying seconds to reveal a brave Belgian effort at Leigh Sports Village.
Wave after wave of Sweden attacks in the second period had no joy to that point, with goalkeeper Nicky Evrard proving to be their nemesis.
But heartbreak for the Red Flames came in the second minute of stoppage time when Sembrant slotted home to send Sweden through to their ninth European Championship semi-final.
Sweden were the first to make their mark on this quarter-final and almost got a flyer when Filippa Angeldal’s effort from distance was turned wide by Evrard in the sixth minute.
Sweden’s high pressing started to cause problems for the Belgian defense and some loose play outside the area gave Angeldal another chance before her first-time effort sailed over the bar.
Belgium have called on Evrard several times during this tournament and she was on hand again to keep the scores level when she parried Kosovare Asllani’s header to prevent what looked like a sure goal after 14 minutes.
Blackstenius thought she had scored her second goal of the tournament when she latched on to Asllani’s through ball before slotting home, but a VAR intervention ruled her offside by the narrowest of margins, much to the relief of the Belgian faithful.
A corner late in the first half caused a goal talk and Evrard did well to deny a combination of efforts from Blackstenius and Amanda Ilestedt, but the ladies in yellow had nothing to show for their 45 minutes of dominance.
The second period was decided in a pattern much like the first, as Sweden pushed to break the deadlock with early efforts from Fridolina Rolfo and Angeldal.
Belgium had never reached a major knockout stage of the tournament before and their dogged defense began to frustrate their opponents, as Evrard was once again on hand to stop a close-range header from Blackstenius from crashing into the net.
Belgium’s resistance was finally broken in the closing moments when Sembrant headed home a close-range effort after a period of pinball inside the box after a corner caused mayhem.