Latest news with #KosovareAsllani
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How England saved themselves at Euro 2025: Blood, sweat, notes and… holding in a wee in the shootout
Sloppy play, strapping, bloody noses, notes, cramp, needing a wee mid-penalty, hitting the woodwork, chest pumps, roars, super subs, shocking spotkicks, a never say die attitude and a shed load of luck. England, the defending champions, beat Sweden 3-2 on penalties to progress to the Euro 2025 semi-finals. Such a simple sentence. There is structure, order, whole numbers, a complete contrast to the kaleidoscopic whirl of chaos that unfolded inside Stadion Letzigrund on Thursday night. Or had the minutes ticked into Friday morning in Switzerland? Any concept of time had disappeared. 'Very hyper,' said the usually serene England manager Sarina Wiegman, adrenaline coursing through her body. 'Still very emotional… a crazy game… I can't remember anything like this. At least three times I thought we were out.' Once, inside two minutes when Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani punished England's poor passing, twice when Stina Blackstenius hammered home in the 25th minute to make it 2-0. Nearly a third had it not been for Hannah Hampton denying Fridolina Rolfo later on in the first half. Not that the England No 1 recalls the save, every action a blur. At half-time, 2-0 down, there was calm inside the England dressing room. The coaching staff made tactical tweaks and reinforced key messages: play to your strengths, get the forward players on the ball, exploit the back post from crosses and believe. The players said, 'We don't want to go home' to each other. A quartet of substitutes eventually came on, three in the 70th minute: Beth Mead for Ella Toone, Michelle Agyemang for Georgia Stanway and Esme Morgan for Jess Carter while Chloe Kelly replaced Lauren Hemp eight minutes later. Morgan, who showed maturity on her tournament debut, carried a note. She didn't read it. She was just told to give it to Lucy Bronze and captain Leah Williamson, who tucked it into her sock. Wiegman rolled the dice and England changed their shape it seemed with two strikers (Russo and Agyemang), two wingers (Mead and Kelly) and James, who like many battled and ran, in a floating midfield role. 'I was playing as a No 6, No 10, as a winger…' said Mead. 'Weirdly, it didn't feel chaotic. If Sarina asks you to do it, you do it and as a player, you back yourself. Sarina knows what she's doing, there is method in the madness.' The closest player to Wiegman passes on the information at any break in play. 'You get a few seconds, a minute or two, she changes it quickly…' said Mead. Morgan's instructions were to stay patient, build attacks, let the forwards create and stop Blackstenius and Sweden's counter-attacks. The message to Kelly — who wore shin pads with pictures of her wedding day and her dogs — was to inject energy into the game. A minute later the supersub duly delivered with a sumptuous cross for Bronze to head home. She did the same 102 seconds later. This time 19-year-old Agyemang tapped in to level the score at 2-2, chest bumping Bronze in celebration. Kelly was constantly in Agyemang's ear. 'Come alive now Miche,' her Arsenal team-mate whispered. In the 100th minute Williamson rolled her ankle after jumping for a header. Kelly ushered the physios onto the pitch. She told her captain to wait a little longer so a team-mate could warm up. The centre-back was not moving fluidly. Neither was Keira Walsh who, struggling with cramp, could not make it until half-time of extra time. Wiegman spoke to the players in a huddle. Williamson was animated and gave a rousing speech. 'Just keep going, 15 minutes, give it absolutely everything, leave everything out there,' she said, knowing she could not continue. 'She was trying to keep us motivated,' explained Mead who felt Williamson's 'raw emotion'. Minutes later, however, England looked like the walking wounded after defending a Sweden corner. Blood trickled from Hampton's nostril while Alex Greenwood clutched her shoulder. As England doctor Ritan Mehta stuffed cotton up Hampton's nose, Bronze took matters into her own hands. Her right thigh was tight so she strapped it before chucking the excess white tape off the pitch. 'I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going,' she said. Hardly ideal preparation for a penalty shootout. England came together in a tight huddle before the shootout. Assistant Arjan Veurink clearly told the players their order. They knew their system but their execution was poor. Despite bursting for a wee, with a hop, a skip and a cheeky grin, Kelly kept their hopes alive. Morgan was, in her words, 'weirdly calm' but Toone felt sick watching from the bench. 'It was horrible, honestly, awful,' she said. 'I've never felt like it in my life. It's so hard when you're playing and then you come off and you can't help the team. You've got to find a different way to encourage, give them that extra push. It's just so hard sitting there and not being able to do anything. I was sat next to Stanway, she didn't help, then Keira didn't help, a lot of us were shutting our eyes.' Teenager Agyemang was asking Kelly to keep count of the score. Then up stepped Bronze, the captain's rainbow armband wrapped round her right wrist. She whipped off her strapping on her leg. 'I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty,' said the right-back whose belief never wavered. 'I thought: 'I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it'.' Bronze hit a 102km/h rocket into the roof of the net, let out a roar and slammed the ball onto the grass. 'Lucy was chaotic,' said Mead. 'She became a physio, a striker, she nailed the best penalty of the day. She did it all.' When Smilla Holmberg fired over the bar, the England players bundled on Hampton, who had made two crucial saves. 'I'm better with one nostril!' the player of the match joked. Goalkeeping coach Darren Ward hugged and lifted the petite Wiegman off the ground, Williamson jumped into the arms of a tearful coaching staff member. Gala's Freed From Desire blasted out of the dressing room as the players danced. Relief, happiness and frustration poured out of Mead, who was one of nine players from both sides to miss a penalty. 'I think I cried like a baby,' she said. 'It's a lot of emotion. You've been in these positions before and we've fallen short. We worked so hard to get back into the game, to not have got it over the line was a scary thought.' Williamson was proud of her team. 'I love that we never give up,' she told the BBC. 'We're never done.' 'It's our never say die attitude,' said Toone. 'A bit of a mad one, a whirlwind, it is hard to put into words, but we got there in the end.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. England, Soccer, International Football, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How England saved themselves at Euro 2025: Blood, sweat, notes and… holding in a wee in the shootout
Sloppy play, strapping, bloody noses, notes, cramp, needing a wee mid-penalty, hitting the woodwork, chest pumps, roars, super subs, shocking spotkicks, a never say die attitude and a shed load of luck. England, the defending champions, beat Sweden 3-2 on penalties to progress to the Euro 2025 semi-finals. Advertisement Such a simple sentence. There is structure, order, whole numbers, a complete contrast to the kaleidoscopic whirl of chaos that unfolded inside Stadion Letzigrund on Thursday night. Or had the minutes ticked into Friday morning in Switzerland? Any concept of time had disappeared. 'Very hyper,' said the usually serene England manager Sarina Wiegman, adrenaline coursing through her body. 'Still very emotional… a crazy game… I can't remember anything like this. At least three times I thought we were out.' Once, inside two minutes when Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani punished England's poor passing, twice when Stina Blackstenius hammered home in the 25th minute to make it 2-0. Nearly a third had it not been for Hannah Hampton denying Fridolina Rolfo later on in the first half. Not that the England No 1 recalls the save, every action a blur. At half-time, 2-0 down, there was calm inside the England dressing room. The coaching staff made tactical tweaks and reinforced key messages: play to your strengths, get the forward players on the ball, exploit the back post from crosses and believe. The players said, 'We don't want to go home' to each other. A quartet of substitutes eventually came on, three in the 70th minute: Beth Mead for Ella Toone, Michelle Agyemang for Georgia Stanway and Esme Morgan for Jess Carter while Chloe Kelly replaced Lauren Hemp eight minutes later. Morgan, who showed maturity on her tournament debut, carried a note. She didn't read it. She was just told to give it to Lucy Bronze and captain Leah Williamson, who tucked it into her sock. Wiegman rolled the dice and England changed their shape it seemed with two strikers (Russo and Agyemang), two wingers (Mead and Kelly) and James, who like many battled and ran, in a floating midfield role. 'I was playing as a No 6, No 10, as a winger…' said Mead. 'Weirdly, it didn't feel chaotic. If Sarina asks you to do it, you do it and as a player, you back yourself. Sarina knows what she's doing, there is method in the madness.' The closest player to Wiegman passes on the information at any break in play. 'You get a few seconds, a minute or two, she changes it quickly…' said Mead. Morgan's instructions were to stay patient, build attacks, let the forwards create and stop Blackstenius and Sweden's counter-attacks. The message to Kelly — who wore shin pads with pictures of her wedding day and her dogs — was to inject energy into the game. A minute later the supersub duly delivered with a sumptuous cross for Bronze to head home. She did the same 102 seconds later. This time 19-year-old Agyemang tapped in to level the score at 2-2, chest bumping Bronze in celebration. Kelly was constantly in Agyemang's ear. 'Come alive now Miche,' her Arsenal team-mate whispered. In the 100th minute Williamson rolled her ankle after jumping for a header. Kelly ushered the physios onto the pitch. She told her captain to wait a little longer so a team-mate could warm up. The centre-back was not moving fluidly. Neither was Keira Walsh who, struggling with cramp, could not make it until half-time of extra time. Advertisement Wiegman spoke to the players in a huddle. Williamson was animated and gave a rousing speech. 'Just keep going, 15 minutes, give it absolutely everything, leave everything out there,' she said, knowing she could not continue. 'She was trying to keep us motivated,' explained Mead who felt Williamson's 'raw emotion'. Minutes later, however, England looked like the walking wounded after defending a Sweden corner. Blood trickled from Hampton's nostril while Alex Greenwood clutched her shoulder. As England doctor Ritan Mehta stuffed cotton up Hampton's nose, Bronze took matters into her own hands. Her right thigh was tight so she strapped it before chucking the excess white tape off the pitch. 'I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going,' she said. Hardly ideal preparation for a penalty shootout. England came together in a tight huddle before the shootout. Assistant Arjan Veurink clearly told the players their order. They knew their system but their execution was poor. Despite bursting for a wee, with a hop, a skip and a cheeky grin, Kelly kept their hopes alive. Morgan was, in her words, 'weirdly calm' but Toone felt sick watching from the bench. 'It was horrible, honestly, awful,' she said. 'I've never felt like it in my life. It's so hard when you're playing and then you come off and you can't help the team. You've got to find a different way to encourage, give them that extra push. It's just so hard sitting there and not being able to do anything. I was sat next to Stanway, she didn't help, then Keira didn't help, a lot of us were shutting our eyes.' Teenager Agyemang was asking Kelly to keep count of the score. Then up stepped Bronze, the captain's rainbow armband wrapped round her right wrist. She whipped off her strapping on her leg. 'I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty,' said the right-back whose belief never wavered. 'I thought: 'I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it'.' Bronze hit a 102km/h rocket into the roof of the net, let out a roar and slammed the ball onto the grass. 'Lucy was chaotic,' said Mead. 'She became a physio, a striker, she nailed the best penalty of the day. She did it all.' Absolute euphoria! 😮 Lucy Bronze buries her penalty and Smilla Holmberg cannot hit the target – sending England through to the semi-finals! #BBCFootball #WEuro2025 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 17, 2025 When Smilla Holmberg fired over the bar, the England players bundled on Hampton, who had made two crucial saves. 'I'm better with one nostril!' the player of the match joked. Goalkeeping coach Darren Ward hugged and lifted the petite Wiegman off the ground, Williamson jumped into the arms of a tearful coaching staff member. Gala's Freed From Desire blasted out of the dressing room as the players danced. Relief, happiness and frustration poured out of Mead, who was one of nine players from both sides to miss a penalty. 'I think I cried like a baby,' she said. 'It's a lot of emotion. You've been in these positions before and we've fallen short. We worked so hard to get back into the game, to not have got it over the line was a scary thought.' Williamson was proud of her team. 'I love that we never give up,' she told the BBC. 'We're never done.' 'It's our never say die attitude,' said Toone. 'A bit of a mad one, a whirlwind, it is hard to put into words, but we got there in the end.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Sweden's goalkeeper delivers x-rated verdict on penalty shoot-out defeat by England - after she blazed spot-kick that would have won the game over the bar
Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk held nothing back after her side was dramatically eliminated from Euro 2025 following a penalty shootout with England. After topping Group G to reach the quarter-finals in Switzerland, Sweden seized the initiative against Sarina Wiegman 's Lionesses on Thursday evening. Kosovare Asllani fired her country into the lead after just two minutes before Arsenal forward Stina Blackstenius doubled their lead. The defending champions were far from their best and looked destined for an early exit from the competition as the game reached its closing stages. However, a pair of goals in quick succession from Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang forced the game into extra-time and kept English hopes alive. After an additional 30 minutes of play couldn't separate the two sides, a dramatic penalty shootout ensued. Sweden goalkeeper Falk made three saves from 12 yards before missing what would have been the decisive penalty before England ultimately emerged victorious after 14 kicks had been taken. Speaking following the game the 32-year-old couldn't hide her disappointment as she reflected on being asked to take a spot kick. 'Peter [Gerhardsson - Sweden manager] asked if I could do it and then I said yes,' Falk said, per Expressen. 'I just thought I would take a few deep breaths and put it to the left, which I didn't do. 'It was f***ing c*** and then it was just about focusing on saving the next penalty.' Gerhardsson explained that he had held a meeting with his players to decide the order in which the players would take a spot-kick prior to the game. 'We had a meeting and the players asked us to make a list: from one to eleven,' he said. 'But of course these are incredibly difficult decisions.' England now progress to the semi-finals where they will face Italy on Tuesday night at the Stade de Geneve. Le Azzure haven't reached the final four of a European Championship since 1997. Andrea Soncin's side endured a dramatic quarter-final of their own to book their place in the semi-finals on Wednesday. After opening the scoring early, Cristiana Girelli headed home a last-minute winner against Norway to leave her side one game away from a major final.
Rhyl Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Friday's briefing: England beat Sweden on penalties to reach Euro 2025 semis
Meanwhile, American rapper Snoop Dogg has officially become co-owner of Championship club Swansea. 🏴 The holders are through to the final four 🔥#WEURO2025 — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 17, 2025 Defending champions England reached the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Sweden. An error-strewn opening 30 minutes from the Lionesses gifted Sweden a 2-0 lead through goals from Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius. It took 79 minutes for Lucy Bronze to pull one back, but just 103 seconds later sub Michelle Agyemang sent the match into extra time. Then, in a barmy shoot-out, Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk saved from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton, while also blazing her own penalty over. Meanwhile, England keeper Hannah Hampton kept out spot-kicks from Filippa Angeldahl and Sofia Jakobsson while Magdalend Eriksson hit a post. When Bronze calmly stepped up to blast her penalty into the roof of the net Smilla Holmberg needed to score to keep Sweden in it – but she fired over the crossbar meaning England will face Italy for a place in the final. A post shared by Swansea City AFC (@swansofficial) Global rap music megastar Snoop Dogg was announced as co-owner of Championship club Swansea. The 53-year-old, who hinted at investing in the club by helping promote the club's shirt launch earlier this week, has joined Croatian midfielder Luka Modric in linking up with the Swans. He said: 'My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City. 'The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me.' Manchester United have made an improved bid worth up to £70million for Brentford frontman Bryan Mbeumo, the PA news agency understands. The 25-year-old has been a key target for Ruben Amorim's Red Devils, who made a first approach of £45m plus £10m in potential add-ons six weeks ago. United followed that up with an improved proposal exceeding £60m a few weeks later but talks stalled as Brentford held on for a greater fee for Mbeumo. The Old Trafford club have now made a new offer that PA understands to be worth £65m plus an additional £5m in potential add-ons as they attempt to sign the player before their pre-season tour to the United States. Liverpool are set to make an offer for striker Hugo Ekitike as talks with Eintracht Frankfurt progress, the PA news agency understands. The highly-rated 23-year-old has attracted interest from the Premier League this summer having scored 22 goals in all competitions after making a loan move from Paris St Germain permanent last year. Newcastle had looked at bringing in Ekitike as Liverpool considered a big-money move for Alexander Isak, who it is understood the Magpies valued at around £150million in an attempt to ward off potential suitors. But the Reds are now pressing ahead with a deal for France international Ekitike, with it a case a matter of when rather than if a bid is submitted following talks. Liverpool are reportedly preparing a deal in the region of 80million euros (£69.2million), with sources close to the player indicating that Newcastle look out of the race to sign a striker that Manchester United also hold interest in. 🇪🇸 Alexia Putellas in full flow 🔥#WEURO2025 || @SEFutbolFem — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 15, 2025 Euro 2025 favourites Spain take on hosts Switzerland in the third quarter-final. The winners will face whoever comes out victorious between France and Germany on Friday.
North Wales Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Friday's briefing: England beat Sweden on penalties to reach Euro 2025 semis
Meanwhile, American rapper Snoop Dogg has officially become co-owner of Championship club Swansea. 🏴 The holders are through to the final four 🔥#WEURO2025 — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 17, 2025 Defending champions England reached the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Sweden. An error-strewn opening 30 minutes from the Lionesses gifted Sweden a 2-0 lead through goals from Kosovare Asllani and Stina Blackstenius. It took 79 minutes for Lucy Bronze to pull one back, but just 103 seconds later sub Michelle Agyemang sent the match into extra time. Then, in a barmy shoot-out, Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk saved from Lauren James, Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton, while also blazing her own penalty over. Meanwhile, England keeper Hannah Hampton kept out spot-kicks from Filippa Angeldahl and Sofia Jakobsson while Magdalend Eriksson hit a post. When Bronze calmly stepped up to blast her penalty into the roof of the net Smilla Holmberg needed to score to keep Sweden in it – but she fired over the crossbar meaning England will face Italy for a place in the final. A post shared by Swansea City AFC (@swansofficial) Global rap music megastar Snoop Dogg was announced as co-owner of Championship club Swansea. The 53-year-old, who hinted at investing in the club by helping promote the club's shirt launch earlier this week, has joined Croatian midfielder Luka Modric in linking up with the Swans. He said: 'My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City. 'The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me.' Manchester United have made an improved bid worth up to £70million for Brentford frontman Bryan Mbeumo, the PA news agency understands. The 25-year-old has been a key target for Ruben Amorim's Red Devils, who made a first approach of £45m plus £10m in potential add-ons six weeks ago. United followed that up with an improved proposal exceeding £60m a few weeks later but talks stalled as Brentford held on for a greater fee for Mbeumo. The Old Trafford club have now made a new offer that PA understands to be worth £65m plus an additional £5m in potential add-ons as they attempt to sign the player before their pre-season tour to the United States. Liverpool are set to make an offer for striker Hugo Ekitike as talks with Eintracht Frankfurt progress, the PA news agency understands. The highly-rated 23-year-old has attracted interest from the Premier League this summer having scored 22 goals in all competitions after making a loan move from Paris St Germain permanent last year. Newcastle had looked at bringing in Ekitike as Liverpool considered a big-money move for Alexander Isak, who it is understood the Magpies valued at around £150million in an attempt to ward off potential suitors. But the Reds are now pressing ahead with a deal for France international Ekitike, with it a case a matter of when rather than if a bid is submitted following talks. Liverpool are reportedly preparing a deal in the region of 80million euros (£69.2million), with sources close to the player indicating that Newcastle look out of the race to sign a striker that Manchester United also hold interest in. 🇪🇸 Alexia Putellas in full flow 🔥#WEURO2025 || @SEFutbolFem — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 15, 2025 Euro 2025 favourites Spain take on hosts Switzerland in the third quarter-final. The winners will face whoever comes out victorious between France and Germany on Friday.
