All of the England vs Sweden highlights including Lionesses’ nail-biting penalty shootout drama
Highlights of the Lionesses’ dramatic match. (Sathire Kelpa/Getty)
Highlights of the Lionesses' dramatic match. (Sathire Kelpa/Getty)
The Lionesses‘ Euro 2025 hopes were kept alive last night (17 July) after a nail-biting game against Sweden, packed with drama and chaos – but also some glorious highlights.
This win takes England’s title defenders through to the semi-finals, where they’ll face Italy on Tuesday (22 July).
It also means that the Lionesses have maintained their record of reaching at least the semi-finals in every Women’s EURO and FIFA Women’s World Cup since 2015.
To celebrate their achievements, here are the England-Sweden highlights, packed with goals, penalties and bloody noses galore.
Lucy Bronze’s goal
After a disappointing first half where England went into the changing rooms 2-0 down, everything changed in the second act.
LGBTQ+ powerhouse Lucy Bronze‘s 79th-minute goal sparked the Lionesses’ comeback. Chloe Kelly’s cross from the left caught Bronze, who headed the ball in at the far post.
Lucy Bronze’s goal marked the 95th goal of these finals and gave the Lionesses that spark of hope they needed to plough forward.
Michelle Agyemang’s goal
Another Lioness highlight was the team’s equalising goal that came just a couple of minutes after Bronze’s.
Following the momentum of Bronze’s header, 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang pounced on the ball after another great cross from Kelly.
Agyemang managed to pelt the ball into the back of the net, equalising with just seven minutes of the game left
Agyemang had been substituted on with just 20 minutes left, and her fresh energy certainly helped the England squad.
The young player is certainly one to watch. She only made her senior England debut earlier this year and she’s already made a name for herself.
The Lionesses’ penalty shootout
If the 120 minutes of football weren’t stress-inducing enough, what followed was pure drama.
Bronze won the coin toss twice and chose for penalties to take place at the England supporters’ end of the pitch.
With their fans cheering them on, Alessia Russo stepped up first for England and got past Swedish goalkeeper Jennifer Falk for a first goal.
Though we hoped this would set the tone, what followed was chaos.
Hampton made a number of good saves, all with a bloodied tissue stuffed into her nose. However, Falk also saved attempts from Lauren James, Beth Mead and Alex Greenwood.
As Sweden drew ahead, it was up to Kelly to score to keep England in the tournament.
She spun the ball on the penalty spot, flashing a grin to the Swedish goalie before smashing the ball and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Interestingly, Falk then stepped up to take a penalty, goalie against goalie. The ball flew over the crossbar.
Then, it was sudden death. Bronze stepped up and the ball flew into the back of the net. Sweden’s next penalty taker missed and it was England’s victory!
Player of the Match Hannah Hampton
After her phenomenal performance Hannah Hampton certainly deserved Player of the Match as she saved the day.
Hampton faced it all in the match, after Sweden tapped two early goals past her, she ensured the rest of the game played out with nothing getting into her net.
Then, a big collision in the penalty box took her to the floor, and she looked up with a face covered in blood.
After changing her blood-covered top and gloves, she got back in position to anticipate Sweden’s penalties.
Hampton made two essential saves in the penalty shootout that helped the Lionesses to secure victory. This was certainly a highlight for not only her but the whole squad, who ran onto the pitch to hug her.
“She didn’t have doubters in our bubble. I think she had a very impressive performance,” Wiegman told BBC Sport in her press conference.
“She had some very good saves in the second half. She had one penalty on the right side that was an incredible save. Pretty big contribution today.”
You can read more on the Women’s Euros here.
