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The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-England beat Sweden on penalties to reach Women's Euro semis
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Quarter Final - Sweden v England - Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland - July 17, 2025 England's Lucy Bronze celebrates scoring a penalty during the penalty shootout REUTERS/Matthew Childs ZURICH (Reuters) -England came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 before beating Sweden 3-2 in a nail-biting penalty shoot-out to reach the semi-finals of the Women's Euros, with Sweden's Smilla Holmberg firing over to end the contest. StinaBlackstenius teed up Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani to score in the second minute after England gave the ball away cheaply, and Blackstenius then out-ran Jess Carter to score with a confident finish herself in the 25th minute. Lucy Bronze pulled a goal back for England in the 79th minute, meeting Chloe Kelly's cross and heading home from a tight angle to re-ignite the white-clad fans in the crowd and substitute Michelle Agyemang levelled two minutes later with a superb poacher's finish to send the game to extra time. Both sides had their fair share of chances in extra time but the game went to penalties. Swedish keeper Jennifer Falk saved four spot kicks and skied the potentially decisive penalty over the bar, but Lucy Bronze fired England into the lead and Holmberg skied her attempt as the champions went through to the last four. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-England rout neighbours Wales to cruise into Euro 2025 quarter-finals
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group D - England v Wales - Arena St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland - July 13, 2025 England's Beth Mead scores their fifth goal REUTERS/Matthew Childs ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Reigning champions England thrashed neighbours Wales 6-1 to reach the Women's Euro 2025 quarter-finals on Sunday, securing second spot in Group D and cruising into the knockouts on a high note. Georgia Stanway struck from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after a foul in the box, calmly sweeping her shot into the far-left corner past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Olivia Clark to open the floodgates. Ella Toone found the back of the net with a scrappy goal eight minutes later, while Lauren Hemp nodded home a third inside 30 minutes. Alessia Russo bagged her first goal of the tournament just before halftime and Beth Mead cut inside a defender before slotting home in the 72nd minute. Hannah Cain pulled one back to the delight of the Wales fans in the 76th minute, but England's Aggie Beever-Jones replied in the 89th. England will face Sweden in the quarter-finals on Thursday. France finished top of the group after their 5-2 victory over the Netherlands. (Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Toby Davis)
The Star
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Spain beat Italy 3-1 as both go through to Women's Euros quarter-finals
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group B - Italy v Spain - Stadion Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland - July 11, 2025 Italy players react after the match REUTERS/Matthew Childs BERN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Spain cruised to a 3-1 win over Italy on Friday that sees both sides through to the knockout stages at the Women's Euros, with the Spaniards topping Group B to set up a showdown with hosts Switzerland, while the second-placed Italians will meet Group A winners Norway. Spain finished top of the group with a perfect nine points from their three games, with the Italians second on four points, one head of already-eliminated Belgium, who beat Portugal 2-1 to snuff out their chances of advancing. The Italians took the lead throughElisabetta Oliviero in the 10th minute but Spain's Athenea del Castillo levelled four minutes later as the reigning world and Nations League champions began to dominate possession. Patri Guijarro put Spain's 2-1 up in the fourth minute of the second half and the Italians struggled to get out of their half for much of the rest of the game, with Esther Gonzalez sealing the deal for Spain with a stoppage-time goal to make it 3-1. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-High prices have Nordic fans feeling the pinch at Women's Euros
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group A - Norway v Iceland - Stockhorn Arena, Thun, Switzerland - July 10, 2025 General view during the match REUTERS/Matthew Childs THUN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Football fans from the Nordic region are well-used to paying high prices back home, so when they start raising an eyebrow at the prices at the Women's Euros in Switzerland, the rest of the world tends to sit up and take notice. Many fans from all over the continent have been shocked at the eye-watering expense of food, drinks and accommodation in Switzerland, and supporters of Norway and Iceland, who were meeting in Thun in their final Group A game on Thursday, have also been feeling the pinch. "The beer is cheaper than Norway but everything else is more expensive. The beer is most important, so that's what I'm measuring everything else by," Martinus Naalsund, brother of Norway player Lisa, told Reuters. "My vacation money barely, barely covers it -- if they make it to the final, my sister will have to pay!" he added. "This is the only place we could go outside of Iceland and it's still around the same price, because Iceland is so expensive as well," Iceland fan Steinar Bergsson said. According to Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union, Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe for consumer goods and services, with Iceland second and Norway fifth, behind Denmark and Ireland. Group A features Nordic sides Norway, Finland and Iceland, as well as hosts Switzerland, so all four sets of fans are used to shelling out when going to football matches. A hot dog at the stadium in Thun cost eight Swiss francs (8.58 euros) while beers and French fries are priced at six francs. Naalsund and his friends, Marius Selbekk and Simon Bergsvik, have been paying an average of 100 euros per person, per night for a triple room as they travelled around Switzerland following Norway's group-stage campaign, and they have stayed in some strange places. "Some of the rooms are quite nice but one night we stayed in what was previously a prison; it was a prison cellin Lucerne, so it was a prison bed, you know, and they had bars on the windows," Marius explained. "There was even a sign saying 'Respect the other inmates'." For Snaebjorn Arnasson, the expense of the trip to Switzerland would be worth it if his relative, Iceland captain Glodis Viggosdottir, could manage a goal against the Norwegians before both he and the team head home after the group stage. "Glodis is a big star back home in Iceland, this is my first time seeing her play at a major tournament, so if we're all going home tomorrow, we may as well get a goal from her," he said. (1 euro = 0.9315 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Spain sweep aside Belgium 6-2 at Women's Euros
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group B - Spain v Belgium - Stockhorn Arena, Thun, Switzerland - July 7, 2025 Spain's Alexia Putellas celebrates scoring their sixth goal REUTERS/Matthew Childs THUN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Striker Alexia Putellas scored twice for world champions Spain as they shook off a slow start to beat Belgium 6-2 in their Women's Euros Group B clash on Monday, a result that will guarantee the Spaniards' progress to the knockout stage if Portugal fail to beat Italy later in the day. On a chilly, windswept evening far removed from the recent Swiss heatwave, Putellas blasted Spain into the lead, picking up the ball after some deft one-touch passing and lashing it into the net in the 22nd minute with a characteristically powerful left-foot shot. The lead lasted only a couple of minutes as the Belgians went up the field and won a corner, which Justine Vanhaevermaet headed home at the near post but, despite struggling to maintain a consistent rhythm, Spain still managed to take a lead into the break after Irene Paredes scored with a towering header from a corner in the 39th minute. Recently returned from a health scare, Aitana Bonmati came on for Vicky Lopez at halftime and almost scored four minutes later but instead Belgium levelled again in the 50th minute, with Hannah Eurlings running on to a long ball and slotting home. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but after a lengthy VAR review Eurlings was found to have been onside when the ball was played. Belgium's joy was short-lived as Esther Gonzalez restored Spain's lead a minute later, with Spain finally beginning to show their class. Mariona Caldentey's fourth goal for Spain in the 61st minute put them at ease and they began to toy with the Belgians, with a brilliant curled effort from Claudia Pina in the 81st minute effectively ending the contest. There was still time for Putellasto net her second goal four minutes from time to put Spain top of the group on six points and eliminate the Belgians, who lost their opening game against Italy 1-0. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
