Tag: Stina Blackstenius

England into Euro 2022 final after storming past Sweden 4-0

Ruthless finishing took England into the Euro 2022 final

A scintillating second half saw England smash Sweden 4-0, taking the hosts into the Euro 2022 final on Sunday.

A frenetic early pace actually favored Sweden, with Mary Earps kicking away a good look from Sofia Jakobsson within the first minute. Stina Blackstenius hit the crossbar shortly thereafter in an end-to-end opening.

Sweden had a distinct advantage in terms of chances, but England struck first in the 34th minute. A break up the left side from Rachel Daly and Lauren Hemp didn’t quite work out, but Lucy Bronze collected the ball before it went out and drove a cross back into the box for Beth Mead, who lashed home a half-volley, her sixth of the tournament.

England then got a further boost barely 70 seconds after the second half got underway. A corner to the back post found Lucy Bronze, whose header sneaked its way through a crowd before tucking into the bottom corner.

Mead—standing directly in front of Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl—was suspected of being offside, but a VAR check cleared the goal, giving England a 2-0 lead.

Hemp then cracked a point-blank sitter off the crossbar after being expertly set up by Alessia Russo. Earps robbed Sweden of a goal, but at the other end the hosts put the game to bed with an extraordinary goal in the 68th minute.

A sublime passing sequence seemed to set up a sure chance for Russo, only for the substitute to fire right at Lindahl. Sweden felt they had escaped, but Russo moved to the rebound and blindly backheeled it, catching Lindahl and everyone else by complete surprise to make it 3-0.

Lindahl’s day went from bad to worse as the veteran failed to catch Fran Kirby’s 76th minute lob, instead having to watch as it slowly bounced over the line for England’s fourth, giving the crowd in Sheffield the chance to start the party early.

England will face either Germany or France in the final, with those two playing their semifinal on Wednesday.

Watch all four of England’s goals

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