England beat Sweden on penalties to reach Euro semis

England roared into the semifinals of Women’s Euro 2025 on Thursday after coming back from two goals down and then beating Sweden 3-2 in a chaotic penalty shootout to continue their title defence.

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Smilla Holmberg blasted over from the spot to settle the shootout drama in Zurich after the match finished 2-2 thanks to Lucy Bronze and Michelle Agyemang’s quickfire strikes just as England looked to be limping out of the tournament.

The reigning European champions were staring at elimination with 11 minutes remaining in normal time after Kosovare Asllani, who opened the scoring with her 50th international goal in the second minute, and Stina Blackstenius shot Sweden into a two-goal lead at halftime.

England will face Italy, who are in the last four for the first time since 1997, in the last four in Geneva on Tuesday after a rollercoaster comeback.

"Not how we planned it to be, of course, but it’s a learning experience that we put in our back pocket and learn from going forward," Chloe Kelly, who was key to both England goals and took one of the few good penalties of the shootout, told reporters.

"We solved the problems and then it was about getting back in the game. The resilience of the team is incredible."