England are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after surviving a thriller against Sweden, with Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton the heroes in the penalty shoot-out.
But a dramatic, gruelling win could have come at a cost ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy after captain Leah Williamson was forced off with an ankle injury and Bronze and Lauren James were seen limping at the end of full-time.
The Lionesses began the match in the worst possible way and Sarina Wiegman’s side were punished for their defensive sloppiness as Kosovare Asllani sent Sweden ahead inside the opening two minutes before Stina Blackstenius doubled their lead.
Changes were made by the coach and the introduction of Chloe Kelly was the turning point with the Arsenal forward providing two assists as Bronze and Michelle Agyemang, another substitute, scored late in the game to force extra-time and penalties.
The shoot-out was low on quality, with nine misses in total and both goalkeepers on top form. Bronze rattled one down the middle to put England ahead at 3-2 and Hampton’s heroics ensured England’s title defence goes on.
England v Sweden LIVE: Women's Euro 2025 latest updates
- England survive thriller to beat Sweden on penalties at Euro 2025
- Lionesses through to play Italy on Tuesday for place in Euros final
- Injuries a concern for England after Leah Williamson limps off
- Lucy Bronze’s iconic moment saves England and seals her place as a Lionesses legend
- How ridiculous England v Sweden shootout unfolded
- Chloe Kelly brings magic and sheer chaos as England abandon all logic
Lucy Bronze on her hamstring and wrapping herself up to last the match
15:29 , Jamie Braidwood“I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game and I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going, but I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty.
“I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty, so I didn't take it off, and then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.”
When asked if Wiegman was concerned by the look to Bronze and Lauren James hobbling at the end of the game, she said they were “really tired”.
“People are really tired,” an exhausted Wiegman added.
England players tired after draining win over Sweden
15:02 , Jamie BraidwoodLauren James and Lucy Bronze also appeared to be limping, after staying on for extra time but Wiegman alleviated any further concerns by suggesting it was just fatigue.
Bronze, though, had strapping around her left leg during the game and walked through the mixed zone area in Zurich with ice on her right thigh after playing through pain to score the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
“I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game and I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going,” Bronze said. The right back removed the strapping on her leg before scoring her penalty.
“I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty so then, I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty, so I didn't take it off and then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.”
Who is Hannah Hampton? England goalkeeping hero filling Mary Earps’ gloves at Euro 2025
14:41 , Jamie BraidwoodHannah Hampton puffs out her cheeks as she considers the magnitude of what came before. Mary Earps left big gloves to fill; the England goalkeeper, who not just won the Euros and was twice named the best in the world, but who changed goalkeeping and inspired a generation.
“I’ve got to just go and live up to her legacy,” Hampton says.
The Lionesses have a new No 1 at Euro 2025. Hampton has been England’s starting goalkeeper for all four matches so far in Switzerland, and would have been even if Earps had made Sarina Wiegman’s squad. Earps’ shock decision to retire before the tournament, though, naturally increased the spotlight on Hampton, but she silenced any remaining doubters with her heroic display in the penalty shoot-out triumph against Sweden in the quarter-finals on Thursday, with a number of key saves during the match before two stops in the shoot-out drama.
Who is Hannah Hampton? England goalkeeping hero filling Earps’ gloves at Euro 2025
Why did goalkeeper Jennifer Falk take Sweden’s fifth penalty against England?
14:13 , Jamie BraidwoodOn the eve of Sweden’s Euro 2025 quarter-final against England, in what transpired to be his final match in charge, Peter Gerhardsson was asked for an insight into how he prepares his team for penalty shoot-outs. Gerhardsson gave a long response, essentially explaining that it was impossible to pick five players to take a penalty until the moment actually arrived.
As Sweden’s players huddled together at the end of extra time, Gerhardsson surveyed his options and chose his takers. The Sweden squad had held a team meeting before their quarter-final and concluded that they wanted the decision taken out of their hands: Gerhardsson and his coaching staff would list the penalty takers in order, from one to 11. “They wanted that order so we listened,” Gerhardsson later explained. “That made it easier for us. We picked the ones we believed in.”
Within that, Gerhardsson and his coaching staff made a choice that would later define the shoot-out. There was an audible gasp in the Stadion Letzigrund as goalkeeper Jennifer Falk stepped forward to take Sweden’s fifth penalty.
Why did goalkeeper Jennifer Falk take Sweden’s fifth penalty against England?
Lionesses’ Hannah Hampton baffled by Sweden goalkeeper taking penalty in shootout
13:50 , Jamie BraidwoodLionesses goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has admitted to being baffled by Sweden’s decision to give a crucial penalty to her opposite number during England’s dramatic shootout win at Euro 2025.
“I was more panicking that we didn’t have any data on her or where she was going,” Hampton said afterwards of her thoughts when she saw Falk stepping up. “So I was like oh my goodness this is down to me. I was a bit surprised.”
Lionesses’ Hannah Hampton baffled by Sweden goalkeeper taking penalty in shootout
Some England players training in Zurich this morning
13:10 , Jamie BraidwoodLeah Williamson is not training with England in Zurich today, but then anyone who played in last night’s epic against Sweden has been given the day off for recovery.
A training session is still going ahead for the rest of the squad but there is no further update on the England captain, who is set to have an assessment on her ankle after being forced off against Sweden.
Sarina Wiegman confirms major injury concern after Leah Williamson limps off England win
12:49 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman confirmed that captain Leah Williamson rolled her ankle during England’s chaotic Euro 2025 win over Sweden and said the defender will be assessed before the semi-final against Italy on Tuesday.
The Lionesses fought from two goals down and then survived a thrilling penalty shoot-out to keep their European title defence alive in Zurich but Wiegman may be left counting the cost of the victory after Williamson limped off in extra time.
The centre-back stayed down after England cleared a corner and appeared to land awkwardly. Williamson attempted to play on but realised she was not at “100 per cent” and was replaced before the penalty drama unfolded.
“She rolled her ankle. She’ll be assessed tomorrow,” Wiegman said in her press conference. “I don’t know what it is right now. She couldn’t stay on the pitch so we had to take her off.”
Sarina Wiegman confirms major injury concern after Leah Williamson limps off
Lucy Bronze’s iconic moment saves England and seals her place as a Lionesses legend
12:29 , Miguel Delaney“One of a kind," Sarina Wiegman said of Lucy Bronze. Her "fighter" of a full-back certainly offered an image that will go down in England folklore, albeit after a team performance that won't quite be mentioned as prominently.
Only the spirit, appropriately, will prevail. After a series of absurd misses, in what might well have been one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in football history, a hobbling Bronze ripped off the strapping on her left leg, and strode forward. An astonishing eight of the 12 previous penalties had been squandered. Some had been missed in scarcely believable fashion, the emotional momentum of the shoot-out veering as wildly as some of the shots. So, Bronze just smashed it straight into the roof of the net.
Lucy Bronze’s iconic moment saves England and seals her place as a Lionesses legend
Sarina Wiegman 'very emotional' after thrilling Euro 2025 quarter-final victory over Sweden
12:09 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman after England beat Sweden: “Still very hyper. Still very emotional. I think a lot of adrenaline is still in my body. But, a crazy game.
“Absolutely, I can’t remember anything like this.”
Hampton: 'England are back'
11:49 , Lawrence OstlereMuch of the build-up to this tournament centred around Chelsea shot-stopper Hampton, who had gradually usurped popular Euro-winning keeper Mary Earps as Sarina Wiegman's first choice.
Earps announced her shock international retirement before Wiegman's squad announcement, as a result leaving major-tournament debutant Hampton with the weight of the nation's expectations on her 24-year-old shoulders.
"It's obviously been a difficult couple of years (for me) within the England environment," said Hampton, "(but) all the girls were ecstatic (tonight). They've seen all the hard work that I've put in and how difficult it's been, and how they've helped me get to the point that I am now, where I am happy to be wearing an England shirt again."
Hampton: 'England are back'
11:24 , Lawrence OstlereEngland goalkeeper Hannah Hampton declared "proper England is back" after the defending champions booked their place in the Euro 2025 semi-finals.
"It shows proper England is back," said Hampton, when asked about the Lionesses' commitment to fight with everything they had - even at the expense of her own nose - after clawing their way back into the contest.
"We're going in the right direction. I think you know that everyone would be putting their bodies on the line. Literally you could see that out there.
"We said at half-time, 'we don't want to go home, so it's down to us to turn the game around'."
Bronze praised for 'fight'
10:58 , Lawrence OstlereCoach Sarina Wiegman and teammate Beth Mead both paid tribute to Bronze.
"Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind. I have never, ever seen this before in my life, and I'm... a very lucky person that I've worked with so many incredible people, incredible football players," Wiegman said.
"What defines her is that resilience, that fight."
Mead, a second-half substitute, also praised Bronze's performance.
"I mean she did it all, and I think Lucy really showed her experience in those moments," Mead said.
"She's our most experienced England player, and I think she was one of the players that very much got that determination out of us all today."
Lucy Bronze: 'It wasn't beautiful but it got us through'
10:39 , Lawrence OstlereEngland heroine Lucy Bronze said it was "grit, determination and hard work" that pushed the team to win their Uefa Women's quarter-final against Sweden.
The team was determined not to lose, Bronze said.
"It wasn't beautiful, but it got us through."
Media hails 'cats with nine lives'
10:14 , Lawrence OstlereEngland's valiant effort also drew praise in The Guardian.
"Even as an utterly shambolic England trail Sweden 2-0 and the obituaries for their Euro 2025 campaign are being scribbled, there is a little knot of refusal there, a team with an entirely unwarranted calmness at its core, a team that against all the available visual evidence still trusts that everything is going to work out eventually," Jonathan Liew wrote.
The Telegraph said Bronze's winning penalty would go down in English football folklore.
"It was a penalty hit with fury, a strike of pure mental and physical strength," Luke Edwards wrote.
"Bronze roared, a scream into the night air, a scream that said England will not surrender, they will not go down without a fight while she had oxygen left in her lungs."
Media hails 'cats with nine lives'
10:00 , Lawrence OstlereThe media hailed England's great escape in the quarter-finals of Women's Euro 2025 after the Lionesses battled from two goals down to beat Sweden in a surreal penalty shootout and keep their title defence alive.
"Beautiful craziness!" trumpeted the Daily Mail, while The Sun led with "Cats With Nine Lives" and The Times declared "Hannah Hampton the England hero in ridiculous penalty shoot-out".
"If this team was a cat, seven of nine lives would have been used up on this rollercoaster ride, but here they were: still standing, still fighting," Dominic King wrote in the Daily Mail.
The Times said it had looked like England were on their way out when they trailed 2-0 after 25 minutes before goals from Lucy Bronze and teenager Michelle Agyemang sent the game to extra time.
"Yes, England were abysmal for 70 minutes, but who cares?" Kit Shepard wrote.
"Once Sarina Wiegman finally made some substitutions in this epic quarter-final, they recovered from 2-0 down, held on heroically in extra time and prevailed in a ridiculous penalty shoot-out. The Lionesses' Euro 2025 hopes are, somehow, still alive."
Sarina Wiegman: 'We could have been out four or five times'
09:40 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman said England’s win over Sweden was “absolutely” the most chaotic and tiring games she has had to coach.
"The adrenalin is still flowing, I can't remember anything like this," Wiegman said. "The team just fighting to get back in the game, that's the quality that's so strong in this team, they're together, fighting back, sticking together and just showing so much resilience.
“Hard. One of the hardest games I’ve ever watched, very emotional. We could have been out four or five times. Of course when you’re 2-0 down at half time it’s not good. We started really bad and then at the end of the first half got better, in the second half we got better but we didn’t create anything so had to change shape.
“Then we scored two goals so that was crazy already. Then extra time, some players injured, Hannah, blood all over the place, we go into penalty shootout, then we miss a lot but they miss even more then we’re through! I need to decompress, I think!”
Sarina Wiegman praises Hannah Hampton
09:20 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman on Hannah Hampton’s performance and whether the goalkeeper had won over the doubters after becoming England No 1.
"She didn't have doubters in our bubble,” Wiegman said. “I think she had a very impressive performance. She had some very good saves in the second half. She had one penalty on the right side that was an incredible save. Pretty big contribution today."
Chloe Kelly praises strength of England's squad after win
09:00 , Jamie BraidwoodChloe Kelly praised the strength of England’s squad after making another impressive impact off the bench in the by sparking the comeback against Sweden.
Kelly set up two goals in the space of three minutes a mere 60 seconds after coming on the pitch in the 78th minute of the game.
“We knew that we had to bounce back, we weren’t at our best in the first half but we knew that we were capable of doing so and we showed that,” Kelly said.
“The girls coming onto the pitch did their job and executed it really well. It just shows the whole squad of 23, when you’re needed you take your moment and that’s exactly what the girls did tonight.”
Leah Williamson: 'We have the belief'
08:45 , Jamie BraidwoodLeah Williamson on the pride she felt watching England survive penalties to beat Sweden and reach the Euro 2025 semi-finals.
“That was awful to watch at the end but I just love that we never give up,” said the England captain, who was forced off with an ankle injury.
“We don’t believe that we’re ever done. The fightback, the quality to turn the game around and stay in it mentally is just incredible.
“We played three finals in a row basically in terms of if you lose, you’re going home. We have the belief, we have the proof, it’s just about turning up and doing the job. I’m a happy girl today.”
Comebacks queens: England make Euros history
08:30 , Jamie BraidwoodEngland are the first team to progress at the Women’s Euros after trailing in the second half by two of more goals.
The Lionesses have won all three of their penalty shootouts under Wiegman, having lost each of their previous four.
Lucy Bronze on her hamstring and wrapping herself up to last the match
08:15 , Jamie Braidwood“I just felt a little bit tight at the end of the game and I thought, I just need to get through to make sure I can keep going, but I thought, it's going to hinder me in a penalty.
“I didn't expect it to go to the sixth penalty, so I didn't take it off, and then it was my penalty and I thought, I need to take this off. I'm going to actually smack it.”
When asked if Wiegman was concerned by the look to Bronze and Lauren James hobbling at the end of the game, she said they were “really tired”.
“People are really tired,” an exhausted Wiegman added.
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England 'won't take anything for granted' - Lucy Bronze
08:00 , Jamie BraidwoodItaly next, and Lucy Bronze said: “Obviously on paper they're ranked lower than us but for them they've got everything to win in that game, considering I think it's their first ever Euros semi-final. You saw how much it meant to them yesterday getting through.
“Even against Spain I thought they did quite well, although the scoreline probably doesn't look like it, and Spain are a top team. I've watched them throughout the tournament and they deserve to be in the semi-final. I don't think we'll take anything for granted after this game tonight so we have to be at our best if we want to be in the final.”
Sarina Wiegman on Lucy Bronze: 'She is one of a kind'
07:45 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman reserved special praise for Lucy Bronze’s “resilience and fight” and said she had never before seen a player defy injury to score such an important penalty.
“Lucy Bronze is just one of a kind, I have never, ever seen this before in my life,” Wiegman said.
“I’m a very lucky person that I’ve worked with so many incredible people and incredible football players, and there are so, so many, but what she does and her mentality, and how she did that penalty and the goal, at the far post, she gets it in the net. But that’s not what defines her.
“What defines her is that resilience, that fight. I think the only way to get her off the pitch is in a wheelchair.”
Chloe Kelly brings magic and sheer chaos as England abandon all logic
07:30 , Jamie BraidwoodChloe Kelly walks up to the penalty spot as if she’s in her back garden. She stops. She pauses. She picks the ball up and spins it back onto the spot, as if no one is watching or waiting for the kick to keep England’s Euro defence alive, after three successive misses. So Kelly waits a little longer. She spins the ball back onto the spot three more times.
Kelly actually needs to pee. Some England players on the halfway line have lost track of the score as Kelly steps back. She locks eyes with goalkeeper Jennifer Falk and can’t help herself from grinning due to the sheer enormity of the moment. But Kelly sticks what what she knows: she lifts up her left leg, skips a little, and, with her right foot, effortlessly places the biggest penalty of her life into the corner.
Chloe Kelly brings magic and sheer chaos as England abandon all logic
Chloe Kelly delivers again for England in a penalty shoot-out
07:15 , Jamie BraidwoodAfter scoring the winning penalties against Nigeria and Brazil, Chloe Kelly once again stepped up for England in a shoot-out, this time scoring to keep the Lionesses in the tournament.
Chloe Kelly's penalties are iconic 😏
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 17, 2025
When England couldn't afford to miss, she kept her cool 👌 pic.twitter.com/xvrBKnRVdZ
Sarina Wiegman praises England's fight to get through
07:00 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman admitted there were “three times” where she thought England were heading out of Euro 2025 before winning on penalties.
“What we can control is the team just fighting to get back into the game and that is what you can see. I think that’s a quality that is so strong in this team, that togetherness and fighting back. It shows so much resilience.
“Then we changed it and brought in other players like Michelle [Agyemang], Chloe [Kelly] and they brought different things to the game that really helped the team in that moment. Also, Sweden in that moment, had to adapt to some different things.
“That is so powerful from this team. That luck as well, yes, at least three times I thought we were out.”
Beth Mead reacts to 'emotional' England victory
06:46 , Jamie BraidwoodBeth Mead, who was one of England’s triple-change on the hour but then missed her penalty in the shoot-out, attempts to sum up her emotions.
“I was quite emotional at the end of the game. I think I was frustrated not to execute my own penalty. I just said over there, I think I would back myself in them situations but we practice them every day. We try and do our routine. It doesn't go to plan, but we as a team stuck together, we got behind each other and like Ella [Toone] said earlier, sometimes you need your goalkeeper to step up and Hannah did that today.”
Hannah Hampton: England heading in ‘right direction’ after dramatic penalty win
06:31 , Jamie BraidwoodEngland goalkeeper Hannah Hampton declared “proper England is back” after the defending champions booked their place in the Euro 2025 semi-finals with a dramatic 3-2 penalty win over Sweden.
“It shows proper England is back,” said Hampton, when asked about the Lionesses’ commitment to fight with everything they had – even at the expense of her own nose – after clawing their way back into the contest.
“We’re going in the right direction. I think you know that everyone would be putting their bodies on the line. Literally you could see that out there.”
Hannah Hampton: England heading in ‘right direction’ after dramatic penalty win
Leah Williamson on her ankle injury
06:14 , Jamie Braidwood“It wasn’t about me [tonight] and a game like that requires you to be at 100 per cent,” Williamson told BBC One. “It wasn’t the time to stay on the pitch, but I don’t know.”
Who and when do England play next? Route to Women’s Euro 2025 final
06:02 , Jamie BraidwoodEngland have successfully reached the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after surviving a penalty shoot-out against Sweden and coming from two goals down to continue their title defence.
The holders looked to be heading home but two goals in three minutes sparked a chaotic comeback before Hannah Hampton and Lucy Bronze were the heroes in the shoot-out.
After going through on penalties, England will play Italy in the semi-finals.
Italy were runners-up in Group B after beating Belgium, drawing with Portugal and losing to Spain, and stunned Norway in their quarter-final. Cristiana Girelli scored twice to send Italy through to their first semi-final in 28 years.
Their semi-final will be played on Tuesday 22 July with kick-off at 8pm BST (UK time). England will travel to Geneva for the first time, which is where Italy beat Norway on Wednesday night.
Who and when do England play next? Route to Women’s Euro 2025 final
Sarina Wiegman confirms major injury concern after Leah Williamson limps off England win
05:52 , Jamie BraidwoodSarina Wiegman confirmed that captain Leah Williamson rolled her ankle during England’s chaotic Euro 2025 win over Sweden and said the defender will be assessed before the semi-final against Italy on Tuesday.
“She rolled her ankle. She’ll be assessed tomorrow,” Wiegman said in her press conference. “I don’t know what it is right now. She couldn’t stay on the pitch so we had to take her off.”
Lauren James and Lucy Bronze also appeared to be limping, after staying on for extra time but Wiegman alleviated any further concerns by suggesting it was just fatigue.
Bronze, though, had strapping around her left leg during the game and walked through the mixed zone area in Zurich with ice on her right thigh after playing through pain to score the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
Sarina Wiegman confirms major injury concern after Leah Williamson limps off
Hampton’s bloody nose and nine missed penalties: How ridiculous England v Sweden shootout unfolded
05:48 , Jamie BraidwoodEngland 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
Hampton’s bloody nose and nine missed penalties: How ridiculous shootout unfolded
Lucy Bronze’s iconic moment saves England and seals her place as a Lionesses legend
05:41 , Jamie Braidwood"One of a kind," Sarina Wiegman said of Lucy Bronze. Her "fighter" of a full-back certainly offered an image that will go down in England folklore, albeit after a team performance that won't quite be mentioned as prominently.
Only the spirit, appropriately, will prevail. After a series of absurd misses, in what might well have been one of the worst penalty shoot-outs in football history, a hobbling Bronze ripped off the strapping on her left leg, and strode forward. An astonishing eight of the 12 previous penalties had been squandered. Some had been missed in scarcely believable fashion, the emotional momentum of the shoot-out veering as wildly as some of the shots. So, Bronze just smashed it straight into the roof of the net.
Bronze was the personification of England perseverance, which is one quality you can certainly bank on - even in a performance like this.
Lucy Bronze’s iconic moment saves England and seals her place as a Lionesses legend
England through to Euro 2025 semi-finals
05:40 , Jamie BraidwoodEngland are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after surviving a thriller against Sweden, with Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton the heroes in the penalty shoot-out.
But a dramatic, gruelling win could have come at a cost ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy after captain Leah Williamson was forced off with an ankle injury and Bronze and Lauren James were seen limping at the end of full-time.
The Lionesses began the match in the worst possible way and Sarina Wiegman’s side were punished for their defensive sloppiness as Kosovare Asllani sent Sweden ahead inside the opening two minutes before Stina Blackstenius doubled their lead.
Changes were made by the coach and the introduction of Chloe Kelly was the turning point with the Arsenal forward providing two assists as Bronze and Michelle Agyemang, another substitute, scored late in the game to force extra-time and penalties.
The shoot-out was low on quality, with nine misses in total and both goalkeepers on top form. Bronze rattled one down the middle to put England ahead at 3-2 and Hampton’s heroics ensured England’s title defence goes on.
