The reigning European champions were so close to a quarter-final exit on Thursday, until penalty shootout heroics from Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze
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England fans could be forgiven for having a strange sense of deja vu on Thursday, as the Lionesses somehow escaped the clutches of a defeat that would've ended their European Championship title defence. One could argue that the holders deserved to be beaten, owing to a sloppy and error-strewn performance that left them 2-0 down after 25 minutes and still trailing by the same scoreline as the clock prepared to tick into its 80th minute. But, thanks to two goals in quick succession, they dragged themselves to a penalty shootout – where they defied the odds to prevail, outscoring Sweden 3 to 2 after 14 crazy spot-kicks.
It was two years ago when England looked to be on the brink of another premature exit – at the World Cup. The woodwork came to the Lionesses' rescue more than once as they battled through a numerical disadvantage, following Lauren James' red card, to again limp to a shootout, this one against Nigeria in the last 16. There, though, they held their nerve, winning 4-2 to continue a run that would take them all the way to the final.
There are many differences between the two games – the stature of the opponents, the goals, and lack thereof, the manner in which things played out, but perhaps the biggest was that, on this occasion, there were very few who held their nerve. This was a shootout that had everyone and anyone watching in utter disbelief. It was all a bit delirious as just five of the 14 penalties taken were scored, with the most memorable miss being that of Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk, who could've sealed her nation's spot in the semi-finals had she not wildly blasted the ball into the stands.
But there were some who kept their composure – and most of them were English. Amid the chaos Hannah Hampton made two huge saves, including one to deny Sofia Jakobsson when she stepped up to try and do what Falk couldn't, and win the thing. Chloe Kelly, scorer of the winning spot-kick against Nigeria, was a picture of cool, even flashing a smile at her opponent before she found the back of the net. And, of course, Lucy Bronze, whose thumping, Stuart Pearce-esque effort would prove to be the decisive one.
It all created the one, significant similarity between this night in Zurich and that night, two years ago, in Brisbane: The feeling of somehow escaping a loss that, at points, felt certain to engulf England. Will the Lionesses now convert the narrowly avoided exit into a run, just like they had at the World Cup, which took them to the final? Sarina Wiegman and her side will certainly hope so, albeit with one key difference: This time, they won't just reach the showpiece event; they'll win it.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Stadion Letzigrund…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Hannah Hampton
Thursday was not Hampton's best night in an England shirt. She looked unconvincing when coming for crosses, flapped at several deliveries and had some poor moments in possession too, almost gifting Stina Blackstenius a goal that would've had the Lionesses 2-0 down after only five minutes.
However, Thursday was probably Hampton's biggest night in an England shirt. Despite some of her errors, she made saves that prevented Sweden from securing victory in the 90 minutes or extra-time and then, when the pressure was really on, she came up with two big stops in the shootout. This was a big moment and the 24-year-old stepped right up to it.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Jess Carter
It wouldn't be a surprise if Carter is not in England's XI when they line-up against Italy on Tuesday. In fact, it would be a surprise if she is. On Thursday, she was targeted repeatedly by Sweden's attack, with her lack of pace exposed, while her composure on the ball also went missing.
Carter should not be made a scapegoat here. Wiegman has buried her head in the sand about England's issues at left-back for several years now and that is why that side of the defence is so vulnerable. She hasn't found a suitable player for the position, instead settling on temporary and exposable solutions. Right now, that is to deploy Alex Greenwood there – but she didn't play the position well enough on Thursday and didn't work cohesively with Carter, which contributed to the latter being easily exposed. Leah Williamson, too, didn't cover her centre-back partner as she should have, while the midfield didn't make itself available often enough to prevent some of the mistakes when playing out from the back.
But the overall outcome is that Wiegman is likely to have to make more changes in defence ahead of the clash with Italy, and that will likely see Carter displaced in the starting XI.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Chloe Kelly
If Wiegman considers making other changes to her line-up for Tuesday, she's got plenty of options to bring into it – and Kelly is one of them. It's been tough for the Arsenal star to crack the England XI of late, despite regularly getting the nod ahead of Beth Mead at club level. However, she certainly showed why she deserves to be in from the get-go on Thursday, with her remarkable crossing ability at the heart of the Lionesses' comeback.
Within seconds of entering the pitch, the 27-year-old curled in a superb ball that Bronze met just as brilliantly at the back post to narrow the deficit to 2-1. Then, two minutes later, in came another cross that Sweden couldn't deal with, Mead winning the first header before Michelle Agyemang pounced on the ball and finished.
Throw in the fact that she was one of just three Lionesses to convert their spot-kicks in the shootout and this was a terrific night for Kelly, in which she was arguably her team's very best player. Is that enough to get her some more minutes? She'll hope so.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Leah Williamson
Williamson has had a great year. She's progressed back towards her best level after suffering an ACL injury two years ago, she achieved a dream in helping Arsenal win the Champions League and she's now leading her country out at a major tournament again, having missed the chance to do so at the last World Cup. However, she has been shaky at times in this tournament and that was especially the case on Thursday.
The 28-year-old repeatedly failed to cover Carter properly in this game, which exacerbated the issues England were having in defence, and there were times where she was far too easily beaten herself. It's near-impossible to see her being dropped by Wiegman despite that, given her leadership role in particular, but such a statement might not even need to be made. Williamson limped off in this quarter-final after enduring a nasty ankle roll towards the end of extra-time. She may not even be ready for Tuesday's huge game.
