England aim to break the semi-final curse against Sweden at Bramall Lane
England will aim to break their semi-final curse when they face Sweden at Bramall Lane on Tuesday for a place in the Women’s European Championship final.
The hosts advanced to the last four with a hard-fought extra-time victory over Spain last week, while Sweden beat Belgium 1-0.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the run-up to this week’s first semi-final.
It’s time now for the lionesses
Sarina Wiegman led her native Netherlands to European Championship success on home soil in 2017 and is aiming to take England to their first major trophy this time around.
England have lost in the semi-finals at each of their last three major tournaments – including losing to Wiegman’s Netherlands five years ago, as well as at the 2019 and 2015 World Cups.
But when asked about previous last four exits, Wiegman – in charge of England since last September – said: “I think it’s necessary to be in the moment.
“I think you always have to learn from your experience and take what you can take, to get better and learn.
“But there’s no point in talking about it all the time, because it’s now, it’s now. So why do we have to talk about it all the time?”
Sweden wants to raise the VAR bar
Sweden has questioned the effectiveness of the video assistant referee at Euro 2022.
Captain Kosovare Asllani criticized UEFA for “using 50 percent fewer cameras” at the women’s European Championship than the men’s, labeling the situation a “disaster”.
Peter Gerhardsson’s side have had five goals disallowed by VAR en route to the semi-finals and lodged a complaint over the decision to disallow Rebecka Blomqvist’s goal for offside during their 2-1 win over Switzerland on 13 July.
“Using 50 percent fewer cameras in our tournament than the men’s, that’s really a disaster,” Asllani said. “The decisions cannot be made with the same precision. It’s not just for us, for other teams. There are situations where I think you should have more cameras, it can be really decisive.”
UEFA has been contacted for comment by PA.
The future is bright
Former England international Karen Carney believes a Euro 2022 win for the Lionesses would elevate players such as Millie Bright to world-class status.
Carney, who won 144 caps for his country, believes deserved recognition has been missed due to a lack of major honours, but says a number in the squad can expect to see their profiles rise if Wiegman’s side lift the trophy at Wembley on Sunday.
“For a long time I’ve always felt (Bright) has been one of the best centre-backs in Europe,” the 34-year-old former Birmingham and Arsenal midfielder told PA.
“But in the next 12 months she can establish herself as one of the best centre-backs in the world and get the recognition she might not have really had.
“I think it (a tournament win) would catapult the whole team but even more so the individuals.”
Picture of the day
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July 26
Semi-final: England v Sweden (20:00, Bramall Lane)