Latest news with #Gerhardsson
Metro
2 days ago
- Sport
- Metro
Sweden coach slammed after England loss at Euro 2025 over 'unfair' penalty call
Sweden head coach Peter Gerhardsson has faced heavy criticism over his decision to allow 18-year-old Smilla Holmberg to take the decisive penalty in their shootout defeat to England at Euro 2025. Sarina Wiegman's side completed a stunning comeback after going two goals down in the first half against Sweden to secure a place in the Euro 2025 semi final against Italy next Tuesday. The Lionesses needed two late goals from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang to force extra time and also required a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to prevent an early exit from the tournament in Switzerland. A dramatic penalty shootout saw only five of 14 attempts successfully converted, with Holmberg firing her effort high over the bar to send Sweden crashing out. Holmberg, who only received her first senior call-up for Sweden last month and was appearing in her first international tournament, was in tears after her penalty miss and was consoled by her teammates during England's post-match celebrations on the pitch. Gerhardsson's decision to allow the inexperienced 18-year-old defender to take a penalty in sudden death was heavily criticised during coverage of the game in Sweden. 'My spontaneous thought when she walks forward is that you shouldn't put that pressure on an 18-year-old,' Sweden's all-time record goalscorer, Lotta Schelin, told SVT. 'If she ends up in this position, it will break her. It feels incredibly heavy and unfair.' Celtic head coach, Elena Sadiku, added: 'You suffer with Smilla. She should not bear any blame. 'She is 18 years old and has done great. I think it is strange that she is taking this punishment.' Gerhardsson, meanwhile, hit back at suggestions after the game that Holmberg should have not been put forward as one of Sweden's penalty takers due to her lack of experience. 'She is perhaps one of the best penalty takers in training,' Gerhardsson said. 'We had a discussion that she should be one of five. The players had a meeting where they said they wanted us to set up one to eleven. We did that as leaders. We took the ones we believed in the most.' 'You can't keep looking at age. You could ask the same question to several people and in the end you don't have any other penalty takers. We have eleven and everyone has to be prepared to hit. Some of the more experienced ones were also replaced. 'The players had a meeting where they said they wanted us to set up one to eleven. They wanted that order and then we listened to it. Sometimes you can listen around and ask, now it became easier when they wanted it that way. We took the ones we believed in the most.' Arsenal's Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius, who was substituted before the penalty shootout, said after the game: 'She [Holmberg] should be given all the credit for her courage. All praise for that courage.' More Trending Sweden forward Madelen Janogy also revealed what she told Holmberg after her miss. 'I am incredibly proud of her and it says so much about her character. She is so incredibly strong and should only be celebrated,' Janogy said. 'I'm just trying to remind her that she's so incredibly brave to take the punishment and that we're doing it together. 'Of course, there's nothing I can say that will change how she feels now. It's just about showing that we're doing this together and that nothing is on her.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Viktor Gyokeres slammed over new push to secure Arsenal transfer MORE: Erik ten Hag speaks out on signing his former Man Utd star MORE: Sarina Wiegman responds to Lucy Bronze's iconic celebration in England's win over Sweden
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Sweden enter the unknown after shootout loss to England
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Quarter Final - Sweden v England - Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland - July 17, 2025 Sweden's Filippa Angeldahl and Sweden's Nathalie Bjorn in action with England's Michelle Agyemang REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo ZURICH (Reuters) -Sweden's agonising defeat by England on penalties in coach Peter Gerhardsson's final game in charge had them exit Euro 2025 on Thursday and plunged the team into a period of uncertainty as many others in the set-up also consider their futures. Gerhardsson announced earlier in the year that he would be stepping down after the Euros and former Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson has already been announced as his successor, but how the squad and backroom team looks when he takes the reins in the coming weeks remains to be seen. "There are a lot of us on the team who will be leaving after this, so there are a lot of emotions involved. But when you make a decision... even if you don't know how far you'll go in a tournament, there's only this game right now," Gerhardsson told reporters. The game in question was a thriller, a 2-2 draw capped off by a hair-raising penalty shootout that had saves, spot-kicks sent high, and a goalkeeper in Sweden's Jennifer Falk who saved four of seven penalties, but still ended up on the losing side after 18-year-old Smilla Holmberg missed for Sweden. Sweden cruised through the group stage, winning all three games and took a 2-0 halftime lead into the break, but England coach Sarina Wiegman's late substitutions resulted in two quick goals, extra time and a painful repeat of Sweden's 3-2 loss to Canada in the 2021 Olympic final. Falk's overall performance would suggest that she will continue to be the first-choice goalkeeper, but captain Kosovare Asllani and winger Sofia Jakobssonare both 35, and defender Linda Sembrandt is 38, suggesting that they may have played their last championship for Sweden. Asked what it was like to see the likes of Sembrandt after the final whistle, striker Stina Blackstenius said she found it tough. "Everything feels very emotional today in every way, it's hard to put into words what you really feel, but yes, it is difficult," she told reporters before summing up Gerhardsson's eight years at the helm. "Part of the whole thing that this championship was really something that we saw coming, to have a nice end to the time with Peter ... I think we've built up such an incredibly good feeling during this championship. And it's clear that we would have liked to have had a better ending than this," she said. "It's just sad that it couldn't be like that. Peter has been in charge for many years and we've performed well in championships, without it really getting to where we wanted." (Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Sweden enter the unknown after shootout loss to England
ZURICH - Sweden's agonising defeat by England on penalties in coach Peter Gerhardsson's final game in charge had them exit Euro 2025 on Thursday and plunged the team into a period of uncertainty as many others in the set-up also consider their futures. Gerhardsson announced earlier in the year that he would be stepping down after the Euros and former Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson has already been announced as his successor, but how the squad and backroom team looks when he takes the reins in the coming weeks remains to be seen. "There are a lot of us on the team who will be leaving after this, so there are a lot of emotions involved. But when you make a decision... even if you don't know how far you'll go in a tournament, there's only this game right now," Gerhardsson told reporters. The game in question was a thriller, a 2-2 draw capped off by a hair-raising penalty shootout that had saves, spot-kicks sent high, and a goalkeeper in Sweden's Jennifer Falk who saved four of seven penalties, but still ended up on the losing side after 18-year-old Smilla Holmberg missed for Sweden. Sweden cruised through the group stage, winning all three games and took a 2-0 halftime lead into the break, but England coach Sarina Wiegman's late substitutions resulted in two quick goals, extra time and a painful repeat of Sweden's 3-2 loss to Canada in the 2021 Olympic final. Falk's overall performance would suggest that she will continue to be the first-choice goalkeeper, but captain Kosovare Asllani and winger Sofia Jakobsson are both 35, and defender Linda Sembrandt is 38, suggesting that they may have played their last championship for Sweden. Asked what it was like to see the likes of Sembrandt after the final whistle, striker Stina Blackstenius said she found it tough. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore HSA looking to get anti-vape cyber surveillance tool with AI capabilities Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Singapore NTU upholds zero grade for student who used AI in essay; panel found 14 false citations or data Singapore Jail for contraband cigarette syndicate member over conspiracy to give bribes to security officer Singapore Residents in South West District get help to improve employability, find career opportunities Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore at Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high "Everything feels very emotional today in every way, it's hard to put into words what you really feel, but yes, it is difficult," she told reporters before summing up Gerhardsson's eight years at the helm. "Part of the whole thing that this championship was really something that we saw coming, to have a nice end to the time with Peter ... I think we've built up such an incredibly good feeling during this championship. And it's clear that we would have liked to have had a better ending than this," she said. "It's just sad that it couldn't be like that. Peter has been in charge for many years and we've performed well in championships, without it really getting to where we wanted." REUTERS
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Sport
- Business Recorder
Swedish coach backs 18-year-old Holmberg after decisive shootout miss
ZURICH: Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk made four penalty shootout saves but still managed to end up on the losing side as England triumphed 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in their Women's Euro quarter-final on Thursday, leaving the Swedes distraught. Falk played both the hero and the villain, making save after save from a succession of poorly-struck England penalties, but when she had the chance to win it, she fired her own effort way over the bar. With Lucy Bronze finally scoring for England, the pressure piled on to teenager Smilla Holmberg, but she blasted the final effort horribly high to send the reigning champions through to face Italy in the semi-finals. 'It's a tough loss, when it comes in that way too. We were very close, both in the penalty shoot-out and in the game when we led 2-0,' Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said. With five Swedes failing from the spot there will not be the usual spotlight on 'the one who missed', but a distraught Holmberg was still comforted by her team-mates. England beat Sweden in sensational penalty shoot-out to reach Women's Euro semis 'Everyone supports her, and not only her – the sadness is not because you are 18, others are just as sad at 27 or 30. What you saw after the shoot-out was support; everyone supported one another,' Gerhardsson said. 'It will be difficult to deal with later, but we in the coaching team made the choice of players, and we have never been cowardly to make a decision, but sometimes things do not go your way.' Pundits in Swedish media immediately criticised Gerhardsson for giving an 18-year-old the responsibility of keeping Sweden in the tournament when more experienced attacking players had yet to take a penalty in the shoot-out. 'It's the coaches who decided that,' he said. 'We have 11 players who can stand there. It's small margins, it's very hard to prepare for, it's been that way all the time. If they miss, someone else should have taken it, and if they score, it was right. 'You can't have that kind of hindsight, you have to make the choice.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Swedish coach backs 18-year-old Holmberg after decisive shootout miss
ZURICH - Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk made four penalty shootout saves but still managed to end up on the losing side as England triumphed 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in their Women's Euro quarter-final on Thursday, leaving the Swedes distraught. Falk played both the hero and the villain, making save after save from a succession of poorly-struck England penalties, but when she had the chance to win it, she fired her own effort way over the bar. With Lucy Bronze finally scoring for England, the pressure piled on to teenager Smilla Holmberg, but she blasted the final effort horribly high to send the reigning champions through to face Italy in the semi-finals. "It's a tough loss, when it comes in that way too. We were very close, both in the penalty shoot-out and in the game when we led 2-0," Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said. With five Swedes failing from the spot there will not be the usual spotlight on "the one who missed", but a distraught Holmberg was still comforted by her team-mates. "Everyone supports her, and not only her -- the sadness is not because you are 18, others are just as sad at 27 or 30. What you saw after the shoot-out was support; everyone supported one another," Gerhardsson said. "It will be difficult to deal with later, but we in the coaching team made the choice of players, and we have never been cowardly to make a decision, but sometimes things do not go your way." Pundits in Swedish media immediately criticised Gerhardsson for giving an 18-year-old the responsibility of keeping Sweden in the tournament when more experienced attacking players had yet to take a penalty in the shoot-out. "It's the coaches who decided that," he said. "We have 11 players who can stand there. It's small margins, it's very hard to prepare for, it's been that way all the time. If they miss, someone else should have taken it, and if they score, it was right. "You can't have that kind of hindsight, you have to make the choice." REUTERS
