England 4-0 Sweden: The hosts storm into the Women’s EC Wembley final
Hosts England cruised into Sunday’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final with a four-goal win against Sweden that delighted a sell-out Sheffield crowd, the pick of their hits a remarkable Alessia Russo back heel.
Important moments
1′ Jakobsson closed in the opening seconds
9′ Blackstenius hits the bar
34′ Mead gets a record sixth finals goal
48′ The bronze heads in England’s second
57′ Hemp hits the bar
68′ Russo back-heels brilliant third
76′ Kirby lobs Lindahl for fourth
Match in brief: England too strong for Sweden
While England remained with the same XI as for all five games in these finals, Sweden started with Sofia Jakobsson, who had previously not even featured from the bench here, and also welcomed back Hanna Glas. Jakobsson threatened in the first minute, played through by Stina Blackstenius and had Mary Earps save with her foot.
The hosts generally had more of the ball but Blackstenius was dangerous on the break, Earps having to dive to deny the Arsenal forward. From the resulting corner, Blackstenius took to the crossbar and Sweden’s small knot of just over 1,000 fans did more than make themselves heard amid the general uproar.
England’s chances were rare but Georgia Stanway, the match-winner against Spain in extra time, stepped in to test Hedvig Lindahl, who was facing the Lionesses for the 11th time in more than 20 years. However, she was beaten in the 34th minute when Mead spun to turn in Lucy Bronze’s cross on the half volley.
The combination was reversed early in the second half when Brons rose to head in Mead’s corner. Now Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson called the change but Blackstenius continued to threaten and headed a cross from Fridolina Rolfö just wide. Sarina Wiegman sent on Alessio Russo and her first action was a blistering run and center Lauren Hemp, from an unexpected direction, slid in to hit the crossbar.
Sweden continued to press, Leah Williamson blocked a shot from substitute Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Earps saved brilliantly from Blackstenius. But then a moment of magic effectively settled the tie: Lindahl did well to save an effort from Russo but then the England substitute attempted an outrageous backheel that went through the legs of the stunned keeper.
England lost the 2017 semi-final 3-0 to Wiegman’s hosts the Netherlands. But they weren’t prepared to settle for three, Kirby chipping over former Chelsea colleague Lindahl with conviction. Since then, a sold-out Bramall Lane has been somewhere between wonder and hysteria, a huge final whistle that sent England on to Wembley in search of a first major women’s trophy.
Player of the match: Beth Mead (England)
“Consistent and hard working on the right, linking up and finding key passes. Decisive first goal excellently taken. Corner delivery for the second goal rounded off productive night.”
UEFA Technical Observer Panel
Lynsey Hooper, England reporter
Russo’s cheeky back-heel finish will no doubt steal all the headlines, but together England once again showed they are a force to be reckoned with and worthy finalists. Mead’s opening goal felt most important because it came at a time when Sweden was on top. Earps made key saves when needed and in the second half the Lionesses made light work of the opposition as they were outstretched in pursuit of the game. Wiegmans has made the country believe. Four goals against a team ranked above them in the world rankings. This feels like a landmark result
Alexandra Jonson, Swedish reporter
It is a heartbreaking end to this tournament for Sweden. They came with a very strong team and one goal – to finally win a big trophy. They looked really strong in the first half and were the better side for most of the first 45 minutes, but didn’t capitalize on the chances they created. It has been a problem throughout the tournament. Against a team as strong as England that will come back to hurt you, and it did. However, the result looks worse than the performance. But there is no sugar coating. This is not what Sweden were here to do, and they will leave England very disappointed and self-critical.
Reaction
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Key statistics
- England are in their third final after defeats in 1984 and 2009: only Germany, Norway and Sweden have reached more.
- Mead equals the record of six goals in a single final tournament, set by Germany’s Inka Grings in 2009. She also overtook Jodie Taylor to become England’s all-time leading European Championship scorer.
- Brons scored her first Women’s EURO goal, including qualifying, but already had three in FIFA Women’s World Cup final tournaments.
- All four of Russia’s final goals have come as substitutes.
- Four goals is a record margin of victory in a women’s European Championship semi-final. It is also the first time that Sweden has ever lost by more than two goals in a women’s EC.
- Wiegman now has 10 wins from 10 Women’s European Championship matches as head coach of the Netherlands and England (she missed the group stage with Northern Ireland here).
- England have 20 goals in these finals, one off Germany’s 2009 record.
- 28,624 crowd is a women’s EURO semifinal record.
Lineups
England: Ears; Bronze, Bright, Williamson, Daly (Greenwood 86); Stanway (Scott 86), Walsh; Mead (Kelly 86), Kirby (Toone 79), hemp; White (Russo 57)
Sweden: Lindahl; Ilestedt (Andersson 55), Sembrant (Bennison 76), Eriksson, Glas; Angeldal (Victory 51), Asllani, Björn; Rolfö, Blackstenius (Hurtig 76), Jakobsson (Rytting Kaneryd 51)
What comes next?
England will face the winners of Wednesday’s Milton Keynes semi-final between Germany and France in the final at Wembley Stadium at 18:00 CET on Sunday 31 July.
Sweden return to action with a trip to Finland on 6 September 2023 for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers with their place in Australia and New Zealand already booked.