Hampton: Lionesses heading in the right direction

ENGLAND goalkeeper Hannah Hampton declared “proper England is back” after the defending champions booked their place in the Euro 2025 semifinals with a dramatic 3-2 penalty win over Sweden.

- By RACHEL STEINBERG, PA

Lucy Bronze's winning spot-kick - England’s seventh of an error-strewn shootout - coupled with Smilla Holmberg’s miss, booked the Lionesses a last-four meeting with Italy after they staged a stirring late fightback to snatch a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.

Bronze and substitute Michelle Agyemang scored in the space of 103 seconds to cancel out Kosovare Asllani’s opener and Stina Blackstenius’ 25th-minute strike, while Hampton earned player-of-the-match honours for a massive shift which included two saves in the shootout.

“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.”