Latest news with #Beth Mead
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hampton's bloody nose and nine missed penalties: How ridiculous England v Sweden shootout unfolded
England lived to fight another day at Euro 2025 after surviving a chaotic penalty shoot-out to beat Sweden and reach the semi-finals. After England came from behind to claim a 2-2 draw following extra time, nine of the 14 penalties were missed in an extraordinary decider. The Lionesses were a penalty away from going home on two occasions but Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze were the heroes as they progressed. Hannah Hampton celebrates as England reach the Euro 2025 semi-finals (Getty Images) 'I think we're all frustrated in the sense that we had our system, we've practised them every day, we've got our routines, and sometimes it doesn't go to plan,' Beth Mead said. But after emerging through one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in major tournament history, England could still celebrate as they set up a semi-final with Italy. Here's how it all unfolded ✅ England 1-0 Sweden - Alessia Russo scores A confident penalty from England's No 9. That feeling would not last long. 'Penalty shoot-outs, statistically you're more likely to win if you go first, winning the coin toss played into that,' Lucy Bronze said. 'I love maths.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Filippa Angeldahl misses With a bloody tissue stuffed up one nostril, Hannah Hampton goes the correct way and saves to her left. 'I don' t really know what happened to be honest, all I remember is going up for that ball and someone has elbowed me I think,' Hampton said after the game. 'I thought I got away with it at first because there was nothing [blood] coming out, then I sat up and it was streaming. But as a few of the girls have said, I'm better with one nostril so maybe I'll have it again in the next game.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Lauren James misses It suits James' playing style to have a short run-up but this one didn't come off as she skipped around the ball and shot low. It lacks power and Jennifer Falk saves to her right. ✅England 1-1 Sweden - Julia Zigiotti Olme scores In perhaps the best penalty of the shoot-out, Zigiotti takes out the camera positioned in the top corner - Harry Maguire style. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Beth Mead misses Falk saves again, and to the same side. The goalkeeper has clearly done her homework and has printed off notes to attach to her water bottle. Mead's penalty was at a good height for the goalkeeper. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Magdalena Eriksson misses Eriksson strikes the bottom of the post with Hampton beaten. Neither side can claim the advantage after consecutive misses. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Alex Greenwood misses Falk guesses correctly for the third time in a row and is beginning to look unbeatable in the Sweden goal. ✅England 1-2 Sweden - Nathalie Bjorn scores It's Chelsea vs Chelsea but Bjorn keeps cool to beat her club team-mate. It's match point to Sweden now and they lead for the first time. ✅England 2-2 Sweden - Chloe Kelly scores After scoring winning penalties in shoot-outs against Nigeria and Brazil, it's Kelly's turn to keep England alive from the No 5 spot. Kelly grins as she stands over the spot, does her trademark run-up by lifting up her left leg, skipping, and burying the penalty into the corner. 'She made me laugh and then we both laughed at each other, it wasn't like a disrespect we just laughed at each other. In those moments there's a lot of pressure but I felt that and she just made me laugh.' Later asked what was going through her head , Kelly replied: 'I was bursting for a wee.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Jennifer Falk misses Sweden still have the chance to win it but there's an audible gasp in the stadium as goalkeeper Falk steps up to take Sweden's fifth penalty. 'I was more panicking that we didn't have any data on her or where she was going,' Hampton later explained. 'So I was like oh my goodness this is down to me. I was a bit surprised.' After making three saves, can Falk score in a battle of goalkeeper vs goalkeeper? No! Falk skies it and England stay alive. Falk missed the chance to knock England out and send Sweden through to the semi-finals (Getty Images) ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Grace Clinton misses It's back even again, as the pressure of sudden death falls onto the 22-year-old Grace Clinton. This was the weakest penalty of the lot and Falk saved comfortably. At this point, Sarina Wiegman starts to wonder if England had run out of lives. 'Well when you miss so many penalties I was really concerned,' Wiegman said. 'I thought it was done.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Sofia Jacobson misses It's the second match point for Sweden, but Hampton makes her best save of the shoot-out to tip it onto the post at full stretch! At this point, England players are starting to lose track of who needs what. 'We were trying to work out what was going on as the shootout was happening,' Kelly admitted. 'Michelle [Agyemang] was asking questions, I was like, if we score and they miss then we win.' ✅England 3-2 Sweden - Lucy Bronze scores In an iconic moment, Bronze steps forward and begins to tear the strapping from her left thigh after feeling muscle tightness towards the end of full-time. 'I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty [but] I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty,' Bronze said. 'So I didn't take it off [but] then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.' Bronze blasts her penalty down the middle (The FA via Getty Images) With her captain's armband around her wrist, Bronze does just that. She smashes it down the middle. 'I watched the goalkeeper in every penalty and she dived quite early,' Bronze said. 'Statistically in shoot-outs it's risky for goalkeepers to stand still. Go down the middle.' ❌England 3-2 Sweden - Smilla Holmberg misses Now it's England's turn to hold match point, as the pressure falls on Sweden's 18-year-old right back. Holmberg goes for the top corner but blasts her penalty over the crossbar, the ninth miss from 14 penalties as England scrape into the quarter-finals and Hampton is mobbed by her team-mates.
CNN
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
England produces another dramatic comeback to make second consecutive Women's Euros final
England has made late comebacks its calling card at the 2025 Women's Euros and produced another dramatic finish in its 2-1 victory over Italy in the semifinals in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday. The Lionesses had trailed most of the match after Barbara Bonansea's first half goal on 33 minutes until Michelle Agyemang equalized in the 96th minute, with less than two minutes of added time remaining. In extra time and with the contest looking as if it was going to penalties for the second consecutive match, England was awarded a penalty in the 117th minute when Beth Mead was fouled in the box. Although Azzurre goalkeeper Laura Giuliani initially saved Chloe Kelly's spot-kick, the English forward was quickest to react, stabbing the rebound home from close range and booking the Lionesses' place in the final in the most dramatic fashion. 'It is definitely a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat,' Kelly told reporters afterwards. 'These girls are brilliant – they make me so proud to be English, as every English person is right now. 'I can't believe what happened. The togetherness of this group is so special.' England had qualified for the semifinals in an extraordinary manner, scoring two late goals to come from 2-0 down to force extra time against Sweden before a dramatic penalty shootout unfolded with the Lionesses managing to keep their cool at the key moment. Italy, on the other hand, had beaten Norway in the quarterfinals but was the heavy underdog against the Women's Euros defending champion, looking for its first spot in the final since 1997. Despite the pre-match predictions, it was the Italians who struck first. A probing cross from Sofia Cantore caused all manner of confusion among the England defenders before Bonansea was able to corral the ball and smash it into the roof of the net. With the Azzurre ahead, England went on the front foot in search of the equalizer. And whether through some wayward finishing or some inspired goalkeeping from Giuliani, the Lionesses were unable to draw themselves level. That was until the 96th minute when Agyemang, who has made a habit as a substitute of providing big, late impacts at this tournament, once again displayed her proficiency off the bench. Giuliani could only parry a cross with the rebound falling to the 19-year-old's feet where she smashed the ball home. The goal sparked wild scenes of celebration, with Italy's players clearly distraught at conceding so late into the match. With the game in extra-time, both teams had chances to score again – Agyemang came closest in the 117th minute where her lob bounced off the crossbar. But with penalties looming once again for England, Mead was fouled in the box as she attempted to connect with a Lauren Hemp cross, with referee Ivana Martinčić pointing to the spot. There was even more drama though as Kelly – with her unique run-up before her penalty, comprising of a hop and a jump – had her penalty saved but managed to tap home to clinch a dramatic win. The victory continues England's success at major international tournaments, with this marking the team's third final in a row; the Lionesses won the Women's Euros on home soil in 2022 and lost to Spain in the World Cup final in 2023. 'I feel like it hasn't really sunk in. It was just a rollercoaster of emotions, trying to stay focused in the 120 minutes to make sure we didn't let Italy back into the game,' England defender Lucy Bronze said afterwards. 'I can imagine once I'm in the dressing room, and we're on the bus, and we get back to (the team base in) Zurich, it'll sink in that we've made it to another final. 'I don't think you'll find a team in world football with more fight and more resilience than this England team. To come back and to never give up, the same as we did in the previous game, and to fight to the end; we kept our dreams alive and then to finish it in extra time as well is unbelievable.' England will face either Spain or Germany in Sunday's final in Basel, with the two facing off in their semifinal on Wednesday in Zurich.
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England's rotten penalties against Sweden stink of poor planning, writes IAN HERBERT
Anyone can miss a penalty in the heat of the big occasion. Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate are testament to how it can feel. But nine misses out of 14 in one shootout? The sight of Grace Clinton's terribly weak connection after Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk had ballooned a kick over the bar turned England 's shootout against Sweden into one of the worst ever at an international tournament. It was not a glorious advert for the women's game. In the aftermath, there were no material explanations from England's players as to why four of their players managed to miss and Beth Mead offered the flat observation that the team had practised every day and 'sometimes it doesn't go to plan'. But this reasoning did not account for what appeared to be a scandalous lack of preparation. We are told everything is joined up when it comes to England's teams — men and women — with marginal gains disseminating out from one cognitive core at St George's Park. But when it came to the most critical moment for the national women's team since their World Cup final in Sydney two years ago, the learning was sorely lacking. There has always been a little resistance to the men's game being brought into an assessment of the women's. As Lionesses manager at the 2019 World Cup, Phil Neville would bring his Manchester United hinterland into the conversation and cite Sir Alex Ferguson. Some frowned on this and on him. But now is the moment to point out how England's men have set an example for shootouts which Sarina Wiegman should have borrowed from. When penalties became a source of fear for the men, Southgate applied his mind to taking out the fear. He set up an 18-month taskforce to tackle the reasons for a hoodoo which brought six defeats out of seven. It was about 'controlling the controllables', with a huddle before the shootout limited to the takers, each player assigned a 'buddy' to welcome them back into the pack post-kick and — critically — players being drilled in not rushing. In the shootout against the Swiss at last year's Euros, when England scored all five of their kicks, the average wait time for each penalty was 5.2 seconds, compared with Switzerland's 1.3. The evidence of Thursday's England kicks in Zurich was that the work Southgate undertook for the men had gone to waste. Wiegman's penalty takers' average wait time — the gap from the whistle to the start of the run-up — was 3.6 seconds, with scorers Alessia Russo (5sec), Chloe Kelly (7.6) and Lucy Bronze (4.1) showing it pays to take your time. Lauren James allowed herself just one second. Mead took 1.5sec before missing, Alex Greenwood an extraordinary 0.8sec before fluffing her kick and Clinton 5sec. The choice and order of kickers leaves Wiegman with more questions to answer. Two of the experienced takers, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone, had been substituted on 70 minutes, with England still trailing 2-0. So in sixth was Clinton, who had never taken a penalty before for England. Kelly, England's best player from the spot, was curiously only fifth, scoring England's best effort. The typically insouciant Wiegman provided no sense that England's problems would be a focus before Tuesday's semi-final against Italy in Geneva. She actually seemed to imply the ball had been a problem. 'Of course I was concerned,' she said. 'I know the players are capable of taking a penalty because they're really good. You can talk about the reasons — the fatigue, the ball, the whole picture of it, which is really hard.' But 'no', she replied to the question of whether extra work and thought were now needed. 'We have trained this. We know what players are capable of and we move on. Of course we prepare for a penalty shootout, because that's always a scenario, but I will not make it a big point.' The power of Bronze's decisive kick raised the question of why she, such an experienced player, had not been among the first five and was behind young Clinton. She stripped away strapping on her left leg and smashed her kick down the middle, later revealing she had been watching the Sweden keeper and seen her diving early each time. 'Statistically in shootouts it's risky for goalkeepers to stand still, so I thought, 'Go down the middle'.' Like most aspects of England's shootout, Bronze's logic seemed to have been thought out on the hoof. If the Swedes had not been even worse than England, the inquisition would have been far more severe.
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Anatomy of a terrible penalty shootout – how England triumphed in chaos at Euro 2025
England lived to fight another day at Euro 2025 after surviving a chaotic penalty shoot-out to beat Sweden and reach the semi-finals. After England came from behind to claim a 2-2 draw following extra time, nine of the 14 penalties were missed in an extraordinary decider. The Lionesses were a penalty away from going home on two occasions but Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze were the heroes as they progressed. 'I think we're all frustrated in the sense that we had our system, we've practised them every day, we've got our routines, and sometimes it doesn't go to plan,' Beth Mead said. But after emerging through one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in major tournament history, England could still celebrate as they set up a semi-final with Italy. Here's how it all unfolded ✅ England 1-0 Sweden - Alessia Russo scores A confident penalty from England's No 9. That feeling would not last long. 'Penalty shoot-outs, statistically you're more likely to win if you go first, winning the coin toss played into that,' Lucy Bronze said. 'I love maths.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Filippa Angeldahl misses With a bloody tissue stuffed up one nostril, Hannah Hampton goes the correct way and saves to her left. 'I don' t really know what happened to be honest, all I remember is going up for that ball and someone has elbowed me I think,' Hampton said after the game. 'I thought I got away with it at first because there was nothing [blood] coming out, then I sat up and it was streaming. But as a few of the girls have said, I'm better with one nostril so maybe I'll have it again in the next game.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Lauren James misses It suits James' playing style to have a short run-up but this one didn't come off as she skipped around the ball and shot low. It lacks power and Jennifer Falk saves to her right. ✅England 1-1 Sweden - Julia Zigiotti Olme scores In perhaps the best penalty of the shoot-out, Zigiotti takes out the camera positioned in the top corner - Harry Maguire style. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Beth Mead misses Falk saves again, and to the same side. The goalkeeper has clearly done her homework and has printed off notes to attach to her water bottle. Mead's penalty was at a good height for the goalkeeper. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Magdalena Eriksson misses Eriksson strikes the bottom of the post with Hampton beaten. Neither side can claim the advantage after consecutive misses. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Alex Greenwood misses Falk guesses correctly for the third time in a row and is beginning to look unbeatable in the Sweden goal. ✅England 1-2 Sweden - Nathalie Bjorn scores It's Chelsea vs Chelsea but Bjorn keeps cool to beat her club team-mate. It's match point to Sweden now and they lead for the first time. ✅England 2-2 Sweden - Chloe Kelly scores After scoring winning penalties in shoot-outs against Nigeria and Brazil, it's Kelly's turn to keep England alive from the No 5 spot. Kelly grins as she stands over the spot, does her trademark run-up by lifting up her left leg, skipping, and burying the penalty into the corner. ' She made me laugh and then we both laughed at each other, it wasn't like a disrespect we just laughed at each other. In those moments there's a lot of pressure but I felt that and she just made me laugh.' Later asked what was going through her head , Kelly replied: 'I was bursting for a wee.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Jennifer Falk misses Sweden still have the chance to win it but there's an audible gasp in the stadium as goalkeeper Falk steps up to take Sweden's fifth penalty. 'I was more panicking that we didn't have any data on her or where she was going,' Hampton later explained. 'So I was like oh my goodness this is down to me. I was a bit surprised.' After making three saves, can Falk score in a battle of goalkeeper vs goalkeeper? No! Falk skies it and England stay alive. ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Grace Clinton misses It's back even again, as the pressure of sudden death falls onto the 22-year-old Grace Clinton. This was the weakest penalty of the lot and Falk saved comfortably. At this point, Sarina Wiegman starts to wonder if England had run out of lives. 'Well when you miss so many penalties I was really concerned,' Wiegman said. 'I thought it was done.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Sofia Jacobson misses It's the second match point for Sweden, but Hampton makes her best save of the shoot-out to tip it onto the post at full stretch! At this point, England players are starting to lose track of who needs what. 'We were trying to work out what was going on as the shootout was happening,' Kelly admitted. 'Michelle [Agyemang] was asking questions, I was like, if we score and they miss then we win.' ✅England 3-2 Sweden - Lucy Bronze scores In an iconic moment, Bronze steps forward and begins to tear the strapping from her left thigh after feeling muscle tightness towards the end of full-time. 'I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty [but] I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty,' Bronze said. 'So I didn't take it off [but] then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.' With her captain's armband around her wrist, Bronze does just that. She smashes it down the middle. 'I watched the goalkeeper in every penalty and she dived quite early,' Bronze said. 'Statistically in shoot-outs it's risky for goalkeepers to stand still. Go down the middle.' ❌England 3-2 Sweden - Smilla Holmberg misses Now it's England's turn to hold match point, as the pressure falls on Sweden's 18-year-old right back. Holmberg goes for the top corner but blasts her penalty over the crossbar, the ninth miss from 14 penalties as England scrape into the quarter-finals and Hampton is mobbed by her team-mates.
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Hampton's bloody nose and nine missed penalties: How ridiculous England v Sweden shootout unfolded
England lived to fight another day at Euro 2025 after surviving a chaotic penalty shoot-out to beat Sweden and reach the semi-finals. After England came from behind to claim a 2-2 draw following extra time, nine of the 14 penalties were missed in an extraordinary decider. The Lionesses were a penalty away from going home on two occasions but Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze were the heroes as they progressed. 'I think we're all frustrated in the sense that we had our system, we've practised them every day, we've got our routines, and sometimes it doesn't go to plan,' Beth Mead said. But after emerging through one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in major tournament history, England could still celebrate as they set up a semi-final with Italy. Here's how it all unfolded ✅ England 1-0 Sweden - Alessia Russo scores A confident penalty from England's No 9. That feeling would not last long. 'Penalty shoot-outs, statistically you're more likely to win if you go first, winning the coin toss played into that,' Lucy Bronze said. 'I love maths.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Filippa Angeldahl misses With a bloody tissue stuffed up one nostril, Hannah Hampton goes the correct way and saves to her left. 'I don' t really know what happened to be honest, all I remember is going up for that ball and someone has elbowed me I think,' Hampton said after the game. 'I thought I got away with it at first because there was nothing [blood] coming out, then I sat up and it was streaming. But as a few of the girls have said, I'm better with one nostril so maybe I'll have it again in the next game.' ❌England 1-0 Sweden - Lauren James misses It suits James' playing style to have a short run-up but this one didn't come off as she skipped around the ball and shot low. It lacks power and Jennifer Falk saves to her right. ✅England 1-1 Sweden - Julia Zigiotti Olme scores In perhaps the best penalty of the shoot-out, Zigiotti takes out the camera positioned in the top corner - Harry Maguire style. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Beth Mead misses Falk saves again, and to the same side. The goalkeeper has clearly done her homework and has printed off notes to attach to her water bottle. Mead's penalty was at a good height for the goalkeeper. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Magdalena Eriksson misses Eriksson strikes the bottom of the post with Hampton beaten. Neither side can claim the advantage after consecutive misses. ❌England 1-1 Sweden - Alex Greenwood misses Falk guesses correctly for the third time in a row and is beginning to look unbeatable in the Sweden goal. ✅England 1-2 Sweden - Nathalie Bjorn scores It's Chelsea vs Chelsea but Bjorn keeps cool to beat her club team-mate. It's match point to Sweden now and they lead for the first time. ✅England 2-2 Sweden - Chloe Kelly scores After scoring winning penalties in shoot-outs against Nigeria and Brazil, it's Kelly's turn to keep England alive from the No 5 spot. Kelly grins as she stands over the spot, does her trademark run-up by lifting up her left leg, skipping, and burying the penalty into the corner. ' She made me laugh and then we both laughed at each other, it wasn't like a disrespect we just laughed at each other. In those moments there's a lot of pressure but I felt that and she just made me laugh.' Later asked what was going through her head , Kelly replied: 'I was bursting for a wee.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Jennifer Falk misses Sweden still have the chance to win it but there's an audible gasp in the stadium as goalkeeper Falk steps up to take Sweden's fifth penalty. 'I was more panicking that we didn't have any data on her or where she was going,' Hampton later explained. 'So I was like oh my goodness this is down to me. I was a bit surprised.' After making three saves, can Falk score in a battle of goalkeeper vs goalkeeper? No! Falk skies it and England stay alive. ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Grace Clinton misses It's back even again, as the pressure of sudden death falls onto the 22-year-old Grace Clinton. This was the weakest penalty of the lot and Falk saved comfortably. At this point, Sarina Wiegman starts to wonder if England had run out of lives. 'Well when you miss so many penalties I was really concerned,' Wiegman said. 'I thought it was done.' ❌England 2-2 Sweden - Sofia Jacobson misses It's the second match point for Sweden, but Hampton makes her best save of the shoot-out to tip it onto the post at full stretch! At this point, England players are starting to lose track of who needs what. 'We were trying to work out what was going on as the shootout was happening,' Kelly admitted. 'Michelle [Agyemang] was asking questions, I was like, if we score and they miss then we win.' ✅England 3-2 Sweden - Lucy Bronze scores In an iconic moment, Bronze steps forward and begins to tear the strapping from her left thigh after feeling muscle tightness towards the end of full-time. 'I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty [but] I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty,' Bronze said. 'So I didn't take it off [but] then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.' With her captain's armband around her wrist, Bronze does just that. She smashes it down the middle. 'I watched the goalkeeper in every penalty and she dived quite early,' Bronze said. 'Statistically in shoot-outs it's risky for goalkeepers to stand still. Go down the middle.' ❌England 3-2 Sweden - Smilla Holmberg misses Now it's England's turn to hold match point, as the pressure falls on Sweden's 18-year-old right back. Holmberg goes for the top corner but blasts her penalty over the crossbar, the ninth miss from 14 penalties as England scrape into the quarter-finals and Hampton is mobbed by her team-mates.
