Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson aims to have a “very good plan” for the England match
Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson admits he may have to conjure up an extra special game plan after setting up a Euro 2022 semi-final clash with hosts England.
The tournament’s top-ranked side will face the Lionesses on Tuesday night at Bramall Lane after relying on a last-gasp winner for Friday’s unconvincing 1-0 win over Belgium.
“We will have a plan,” Gerhardsson said of taking on Sarina Wiegman’s side in Sheffield. “I don’t know right now what we’re going to come up with.
“But I can assure you that we will have a plan – and we need a good plan, we need a very good plan, and maybe we need an extremely, very good plan. It’s a really good team. It’s going to be a interesting challenge.”
The quarter-finals conclude on Saturday night with defending champions the Netherlands facing France for the right to take on Germany.
Sweden made you sweat
Sweden were only spared a tense extra-time against the tenacious Belgians after defender Linda Sembrant struck two minutes into added time at Leigh Sports Village.
The 1984 European champions, who had a Stina Blackstenius goal ruled out for offside following a VAR review, dominated proceedings but wasted a host of chances before letting out a mixture of relief and jubilation at full-time.
Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson admitted that a nervy night had been a serious mental challenge and revealed she was close to tears after the decisive goal.
The Chelsea defender – one of eight WSL players in Gerhardsson’s squad – knows her team must recover quickly physically, having had two fewer days than England to prepare for next week’s crunch clash.
“I know all the players they have, they’re extremely talented players, so we really have to be on it,” she said. “Now it’s about recovering, getting fresh again and then putting them on.
– It will be an extremely tough match for us. England have been fantastic so far in the tournament.
Lionesses roaring
England enter the last four with a stunning 2-1 comeback win over Spain secured by a stunning Georgia Stanway strike and hoping to inspire another crazy home crowd.
Midfielder Keira Walsh revealed she can’t wait to once again deliver a hair-raising rendition of the national anthem.
The 25-year-old believes singing “God Save The Queen” best encapsulates the growing excitement over the Lionesses’ chances of lifting their first major trophy.
“You can hear it echoing around the stadium and it’s such a special feeling and one we haven’t experienced before because we haven’t had a home tournament,” Manchester City player Walsh said.
“It gives you a little extra push.”
Is Dutch star Gunner ready?
Attention returns to Rotherham on Saturday night, with the possible return of Vivianne Miedema a key talking point ahead of a mouth-watering meeting between the Dutch and the French at the New York Stadium.
Prolific Dutch forward Miedema missed his country’s last two group stage matches due to Covid-19 but could be back to spearhead their attack after resuming training.
Head coach Mark Parsons offered a positive update on the Arsenal star on Friday.
“I’m spreading as much positive energy and optimism as possible, but we’ll have to see,” he said. “There is a chance she could be available because things are going well, but we have to tick the last few boxes.”
“Underdogs” France offers to write history
France have reached the quarter-finals for the fourth European Championship in a row, but they have never been further.
Les Bleues beat the Dutch 3-1 in a friendly in February, but head coach Corinne Diacre insists her side are underdogs as she bids to create a piece of history.
“The Netherlands are the holders and if any of us are favourites, it should be them,” she said. “As everyone keeps telling us: we’ve never gone past the quarter-finals so we can hardly be favourites.”
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23 July
Quarter-final: France v Netherlands (20:00, New York Stadium, Rotherham)