So, England have done it. The Lionesses are into the semi-finals of Euro 2017 after eking out a 1-0 win against a very talented France side. Jodie Taylor’s goal on the hour, after great work by a marauding Lucy Bronze, was ultimately the difference. Next up for England are the hosts, the Netherlands, on Thursday in Entschede, the home of FC Twente. Right, thanks for your company. It’s time for a lie down; the perfect opportunity to read Louise Taylor’s match report from Deventer:
Updated
England manager Mark Sampson speaks. “I am incredibly proud of the players,” he says. “They showed tonight what they were all about. From 1-24, the togetherness was so strong. I am incredibly proud of the players for their efforts to grind out another result.
The Lionesses are now favourites to win Euro 2017, but Sampson’s not having it. “We don’t listen to the bookies,” the former Bristol Academy boss says. “We don’t bet – we are not allowed to. We will keep bringing the best possible performance we can.
“We are really pleased, we will enjoy this one and go again. It will be another tough game [against the Netherlands]. We will prepare to play a great Dutch team and to try and get ourselves through to the final.”
Some team news briefs before Thursday, too. Karen Bardsley ought to be alright for Thursday, she left the field with a dead leg. Midfielder Jill Scott will be missing through suspension, after picking up another yellow card tonight.
Updated
Euro 2017 semi-finals (both Thursday):
England v Netherlands, 7.45pm BST
Austria v Denmark, 5pm BST
Updated
Lionesses’ captain Steph Houghton’s been celebrating too. “That is what we are about, a bit of resilience,” she says. “We knew France were a very technical team, but we pride ourselves on clean sheets and putting our bodies on the line and that’s what we did tonight.” Back to the training ground tomorrow, she adds.
Jodie Taylor, the England match-winner, speaks. “I didn’t hit it as cleanly as I would liked to have,” she says. “I just can’t wait now for the semis. From the beginning I think we have said we would like to have faced Holland so bring it on.”
England will face the Netherlands in Enschede on Thursday.
This was not England’s best performance, but it was extremely gritty, and perhaps their proudest to date. Jodie Taylor was relentless in her running, an expert in chasing lost causes. She was a constant nightmare for the France backline. France never relented but England stood firm – with Millie Bright and Steph Houghton absolutely magnificent in defence.
England are in the last four. Jodie Taylor’s second-half goal has sent England through to the semis. Mark Sampson punches the air in delight, while captain Houghton goes running over to the Lionesses’ supporters in Deventer. There are contrasting emotions for France, though, with Abily in tears on the pitch, consoled by team-mates.
Updated
Full-time: England 1-0 France
The Lionesses are into the semi-finals of Euro 2017! They have beaten France for the first time in 43 years.
90+5 min: England win a free-kick, with the goalkeeper Chamberlain ready to send it long.
Updated
90+4 min: France eventually get the ball out of that corner and away from Jordan Nobbs. France send in a looping cross, which Lavogez meets but it’s a very tame effort inside the six-yard box. Mark Sampson, it seems, is saying “how long are we playing until?” on the touchline. He’s going berserk.
Updated
90+3 min: Bouhaddi concedes a silly, silly corner. And England have an opportunity to eat up some more precious, priceless time.
90+2 min: Olivier Echouafni, in contrast, is nervously picking his nose.
90 min: England win a free-kick deep inside their own half. Mark Sampson is telling his captain, Steph Houghton, to send it long. There will be six (SIX!) minutes of added time ...
Updated
89 min: Lavogez tees up Henry, but she gets it all wrong, with her right-footed effort bending harmlessly away from goal. Danger averted for England.
88 min: England win a free-kick, with Taylor the target. She collects the ball but is unable to hold off her marker. France send it back up, with Moore adjudged to have fouled Lavogez. France have a free-kick, with Lavogez and Henry both stood over it 25 yards from goal ...
87 min: England build now down the left, with Nobbs finding an overlapping Stokes. France rob back possession, only for Jodie Taylor to beat them at their own game, nicking it back for England.
85 min: Kirby wins a corner for England, with the Lionesses in no rush at all to take it. Nobbs plays it short to Bronze, with England seemingly attempting to timewaste, with four minutes of normal time left on the clock ...
84 min: Somehow England keep it out, with France having two stabs at goal. The free-kick was more like 30 yards out, but a sea of bodies got in the way when it mattered, with the ball dropping kindly in the box after a lofted ball in. Can England hold on?
83 min: England are putting in the hard yards, dropping a little deeper to ensure they have bodies behind the ball, and blue shirts marked. Bronze, though, oversteps the mark and fouls Le Sommer, with France earning a free-kick in a dangerous central position, 25 yards from goal.
81 min: Taylor is loving this. She has been a real menace out there, and now she wins a free-kick from M’Bock, with the France defender booked for her troubles. England seem to have come out of the other end of that difficult patch, where France were very much in the ascendency.
80 min: England get a glimpse of goal, with Millie Bright firing over from distance after Nobbs’ corner. Jodie Taylor had tried to convert from close range before Bright tried her luck with a crashing half-volley.
77 min: Thomis has another go at the England defence, with a smart volley falling wide after Chamberlain failed to assume control of the loose ball in the box. Abily, meanwhile, has been replaced by Lavogez. She immediately has an opportunity to test Chamberlain from a free-kick but fails to do so, with England seizing back possession.
75 min: Kirby sends a looping cross in from the right but that’s way over the head of Ellen White. Suddenly, the semi-finals are very much in sight for England, with less than 15 minutes to play, providing they can hold on here.
73 min: Nobbs tries her luck from distance but she gets it all wrong. Bardsley, winning her 70th cap tonight, will be replaced by Siobhan Chamberlain here, with England forced into a goalkeeping change. Bardsley has an issue with her ankle it seems.
70 min: Thomis, the substitute, does superbly, driving into the England box, evading three challenges before crossing hard and low. It comes to nothing but that was very dangerous. She twice could have fell under pressure in search of a penalty and her direct running caused England real problems there. France, you sense, are not finished here by any means yet.
Updated
68 min: Great work by Kirby, drawing the challenge from Henry as England attempt to put France back under pressure.
67 min: It is not too convincing but England get it away, with Bronze eventually nodding it clear. Meanwhile, Bardsley is back on the ground in some discomfort and England may be forced into a change here.
66 min: Scott again fouls, with Geyoro going to ground and winning a free-kick for France about 20 yards from goal, way out on the right flank. Can they find an equaliser?
Updated
64 min: France make a substitution, with Diani replaced by Thomis. Meanwhile, Bardsley is back on her feet and England are straight back under the cosh, with Millie Bright forced into a panicked clearance.
Updated
63 min: France hit back, with a mini goalmouth scramble ensuing before Diani strikes over. Abily then swings in a corner which is not dealt with and England are very lucky to get away with what happens next. Karen Bardsley comes to claim the cross but gets nowhere near it – smacking M’Bock instead – before Delie’s shot from a tight angle is kept out by the England goalkeeper. The Manchester City stopper has stayed grounded after that collision with the France defender.
61 min: England are in front, then after Taylor’s fifth goal of the tournament, and her 14th for her country. The Arsenal striker has put England in front, but Bronze’s surging forward run should not go unnoticed in the buildup to that opener.
GOAL! England 1-0 France (Taylor, 60)
Predictably, it’s Jodie Taylor who slots home, after great, unselfish work by Lucy Bronze.
Updated
58 min: England rally for a moment but Houghton’s ball is hopeful and France regain possession. England have been too predictable tonight.
55 min: Georges makes a terrific, sliding challenge on Ellen White just as England do well to recycle possession down the left. How long will Mark Sampson wait before reshuffling the pack?
53 min: England are just quaking a little bit here. France break down the right, and the cross is not properly dealt with by Moore. The clearance allows France to attack once more, with Le Sommer outjumping Bronze to head just wide of the frame of Bardsley’s goal. That is the closest we have come to a goal in Deventer ...
52 min: Jade Moore makes a clumsy challenge on Abily in central midfield. France, you feel, are just beginning to grow in confidence. Lucy Bronze’s foul throw doesn’t exactly stem the feel-good factor.
Updated
50 min: Kirby almost wriggles away from Geyoro, but the PSG midfielder takes control of the ball. The 20-year-old has really stood out for France so far tonight, without making any real lasting impression on this game.
49 min: Olivier Echouafni is pacing the touchline. Both teams seem a little ... nervous.
46 min: Kirby’s first contribution to this second half is a foul on Diani down near the corner flag. Anyway, here’s an email: “I’d say that Les Bleues lack a cutting edge up top, but they’re just so relentless in their attacks that they’ll wear the opposition down,” so-says Kári. “Mind you, it would be nice to see Élodie Thomis on the field, as she brings invention and gives the team a thrust they perhaps lack.”
Updated
Peeeeeeeeeep!
And we’re off in the second half of this quarter-final. Will we finish in normal time?
It looks like there are no changes for England at the break. They have had a big team huddle though, with Steph Houghton issuing a rallying call – or at least you would hope. The second half will be underway shortly.
Any half-time thoughts? “England have struggled a little bit in possession,” Kelly Smith says of that opening 45 minutes. “Fran Kirby needs to get in the game,” reckons Eni Aluko. The first-half highlights reel is not exactly tantalising viewing.
Half-time: England 0-0 France
England close the half with a nice bit of possession, but with nothing to show for it. That sums up the first half really, with both teams a little cagey. England have, perhaps, come closest but Millie Bright’s header was a couple of yards wide in truth. The next 45 minutes will be here shortly.
42 min: England pin France back, and M’Bock swings a leg at the ball inside the box, but there’s nobody there to seize possession for the Lionesses.
Updated
40 min: There’s some more positive play by England, with Scott piling on the pressure but neither back line has been truly troubled – yet. On Twitter, Hubert reckons England should move Nobbs into central midfield. Perhaps Sampson may tweak things at the break?
39 min: Georges clears after Millie Bright caused a moment of panic from a deep corner. Jade Moore is then penalised for a foul, and Mark Sampson is waving his arms about on the touchline as he attempts to get his team back on song.
38 min: A punt downfield finds Taylor, who has the beating of M’Bock this time before winning an England corner ...
36 min: Taylor tries to get the better of M’Bock but the France defender clears. England get a couple of sightings of goal, and Taylor has a very half-hearted penalty appeal waved away. Up the other end, Delie has a strike at goal but it is wayward and not troubling Bardsley.
35 min: Ah, that was too easy for Bouhaddi. The France goalkeeper then boots the ball downfield in search of Le Sommer, whose cross is cut out well by Houghton.
34 min: Nobbs beats her marker down the right-hand side but Sakina Karchaoui is penalised for handball and the referee instead brings it back for a free-kick. It’s in an identical area to where Bright headed wide earlier, out on the right flank about 20 yards from goal.
32 min: Jill Scott picks up a booking for a spicy challenge on Henry, just as the game itself seemed to be losing its spark. That’s a costly one for Scott, who would now miss the semi-final, should England progress. The free-kick comes to nothing, though, and is safely gathered by Bardsley.
30 min: The atmosphere in Deventer is ratcheting up a little. England almost get lucky as they counter forward, but Ellen White cannot quite take the ball away from Georges.
28 min: Abily is geeing the troops, with France just getting a little sloppy. M’Bock drives out of defence but the ball over the top to Le Sommer is overly ambitious.
27 min: A careless goal-kick by France almost lands them in trouble but England cannot get the ball under control to attack. Christiansen and Duggan, who both impressed against Portugal, are warming up on the touchline for England.
24 min: France press forward, with Abily beautifully spraying the ball wide to Diani. But Bronze intercepts brilliantly and now it’s England’s turn to have a go. They get the ball to the byline, but Taylor cannot quite keep the ball in play. A fairly even opening 25 minutes or so.
Updated
22 min: Houghton clears. Houara lofts it back in, with a couple of France players lurking at the back post, but luckily for England it eludes them. Bardsley takes the goal-kick, and gets things going once more.
21 min: After a decent spell of pressure by England, France go up the other end, with a surging break down the right. They win a free-kick in a similar area to the one England just won, with Abily stood over the ball at an acute angle on the right flank ...
20 min: Nobbs floats it in, with Millie Bright the target at the back post. She outjumps Georges but it’s wayward and wide. If the Chelsea defender had properly connected with the ball there, England could have found themselves in front. Encouraging stuff for the Lionesses, though.
Updated
18 min: Bronze takes the throw-in, helped on by Taylor and England win another free-kick, with Diani penalised for a high boot on the right flank, about 20 yards from goal.
17 min: There’s a foul on Mille Bright by Delie – not given – but England get up and on with it. Taylor duly chases a lost cause. Jade Moore then does brilliantly to salvage the ball in midfield, before Nobbs takes over. Then Lucy Bronze drives into the box on the look out for Kirby but France hack that clear. That was dangerous ...
15 min: France pry for an opening through Le Sommer, with the ball ending up wide with Diani. England, though, stand firm. France are happy with that, and Echouafni encourages from the touchline.
14 min: France look for Abily down the left-hand side. It’s in vain but there’s a thumbs-up or two to say nice idea. Geyoro then swivels away nicely on the halfway line. France look classy in possession.
13 min: Taylor gives PSG’s Georges a little nudge and the France defender, deputising for captain Renard, is forced to boot the ball out of play. England waste a throw-in in a half decent position and France regain possession.
12 min: Taylor, momentarily, thinks she’s been played in by Nobbs but she’s flagged offside. But the Lionesses have another go, with Taylor again the target. It comes to nothing but England have made a real positive start.
10 min: England again try to find an opening but Fran Kirby’s flagged offside. France though go up the other end and that’s their first real effort – albeit off target by Diani.
7 min: Both teams gift possession to one another, before Houara is hassled by Taylor deep inside her own half. France manager Olivier Echouafni looks customary cool on the touchline. Mark Sampson, meanwhile, is barking instructions out. here’s a lot riding on this ...
6 min: France go up the other end, with Diani fed in down the left flank. She dribbles towards goal but Houghton and Bronze snuff it out. England go again ...
5 min: Jodie Taylor’s causing havoc up there. She holds off the challenge before Bronze comes marauding into the box to help out. The move ends with Nobbs driving harmlessly over, but Taylor’s all smiles. She knows she’s got the beating of this France backline, weakened tonight without captain Renard and Perisset.
3 min: Le Sommer gets a bit of joy down the right flank, cutting inside Stokes before her cross is met by Bright. England get the ball up the other end, with Nobbs winning the throw. A frenetic start.
2 min: Taylor does brilliantly to win the ball back on the right flank, before finding Nobbs. She crosses but it’s gobbled up easily by Bouhaddi.
Updated
1 min: An early England free-kick, won by Jodie Taylor, sees Houghton pile on the pressure at the back post but Bouhaddi collects. That was positive and promising.
Peeeeeeeep!
England kick-off, with the ball landing at the feet of Sarah Bouhaddi, the France goalkeeper, within a few seconds.
Here comes God Save the Queen, with Steph Houghton booming it out in full voice. Kick-off is imminent in Deventer ...
Updated
The teams are in the tunnel in Deventer. The France goalkeeper, Bouhaddi, looks a nervous wreck. But that means nothing. In Tilburg, Austria are through to the semi-finals after beating Spain on penalties.
France have beaten England in each of the last three major tournaments. But, here’s a big but, Les Bleues have never reached the last four of this competition. It’s 43 years since England last beat France. Something has to give, with kick-off less than 10 minutes away.
The last time these teams met, in the SheBelieves Cup in March, it ended in agony for England. France scored a 95th-minute winner after Jordan Nobbs’ long-range effort opened the scoring.
Updated
Both teams have just gone down the tunnel after warming up. In Tilburg, it’s going to penalties between Austria and Spain.
Updated
About 130km down the road, in Tilburg, it’s Austria 0-0 Spain with the second half of extra-time of that quarter-final just underway. Both teams are looking pretty toothless (cue the late winner). The winner will play Denmark, who beat the holders, Germany, earlier:
“With the Germans going out earlier today (in a really entertaining, open match) would you make the winner of this quarter-final the favourites for the tournament?” asks David Wall via email. What do we think?
So, just Chelsea’s Millie Bright keeps her place in the starting lineup, with Mark Sampson reverting to type, with 10 changes for this one. “In these knockout rounds, emotion plays a big part; the passion of the team and the ability to control your emotions, get to the right level and to get that intensity you need in these matches is going to be important for us,” he says.
Team news!
England (4-2-3-1): Bardsley; Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Stokes; Scott, Moore; Kirby, White, Nobbs; Taylor
France (4-1-4-1): Bouhaddi; Karchaoui M’Bock, Georges, Houara; Henry; Le Sommer, Geyoro, Abily, Diani; Delie
Preamble
The buildup to this one has been beautiful. Not only have England swaggered their way to the quarter-finals by topping Group D, manager Mark Sampson has since engaged in some pre-match sparing with his opposite number, Olivier Echouafni.
Sampson described Echouafni, a former Nice midfielder, as “wet behind the ears”, alluding to his lack of experience at tournaments. Then there’s the overt and bereft tactics board, pictured with the word ‘win’ on it at England’s Utrecht training base. Lovely stuff. The pre-match barbs – mind games, at a stretch – have warmed the cockles perfectly for what should be a grand old match-up; England have not beaten France since 1974 and Sampson has failed to record victory over Les Bleues in five attempts.
So what? England are in the form of their lives – 10 goals en route here, to the last eight. The Lionesses’ performances have been entertaining, and fun; a 6-0 demolition of Scotland, an impressive 2-0 win over Spain and that group-topping victory over Portugal. In terms of team news, Sampson is likely to welcome back his strongest XI after resting 10 players for that win over Portugal in Tilburg. Jodie Taylor, described by Sampson as “world class” is the leading scorer at this tournament, and will surely return to the starting lineup.
As for France, they will be without key defensive duo Eve Perisset and captain Wendie Renard through suspension. They’re a formidable bunch, though, and the Lyon side that beat PSG on penalties to win the Champions League in Cardiff in June provides the backbone of Echouafni’s side. Up front, Eugenie Le Sommer, of Lyon, has a touch of class and Amandine Henry, formerly of Lyon, too, boasts plenty of pedigree.
Waiting in the semi-finals for whoever succeeds tonight in Deventer – at De Adelaarshorst, the home of the Go Ahead Eagles – are the hosts, the Netherlands. There’s no Germany left in this competition now either, after they were cut adrift by Denmark earlier today.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST
Updated
