Key events
Speaking about England’s upcoming semi-final against Italy, full-back Lucy Bronze said: “I mean, 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.”
The latest edition of our Football Daily newsletter has just dropped. Be sure to give it a read!
Andy Wright has messaged in to say:
“In Bangkok there seems to be a delay between the Guardian updates and the UEFA live free TV feed (Thanks UEFA!), so the penalty shootout was slightly easier to watch (similar to Australia vs France at the last World Cup). So happy for England, and commiserations to Sweden. Great tournament so far, enjoying every minute! Hoping for a Spain-England final with England edging it 2-1.”
England are expected to remain coy about the injury suffered by captain Leah Williamson last night. The defender was forced off in extra-time after rolling her ankle and refused to disclose any information about the issue in a post-match interview.
She instead said: “That’s not fair, it wasn’t about me, a game like that requires you to be at 100% and nobody can put a foot wrong. It wasn’t the time to stay on the pitch but I don’t know.”
Let me take a moment to point you in the direction of this huge guide to all 368 players who have appeared at Euro 2025 this month.
Thanks Dominic! The countdown to kick-off is on! Just a reminder that it all starts at 8pm BST tonight. Sarah Rendell will be online to guide you through the match.
Right that’s my short stint done, as Emillia Hawkins is back to take the reins and build towards that Switzerland v Spain tie.
Do we give Switzerland any hope whatsoever against tournament favourites tonight?
They’ll of course have home advantage at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, and head coach Pia Sundhage is counting on the Swiss fans to create a big atmosphere.
“With an enthusiastic crowd boosting the team, it makes it so much more fun,” said Sundhage. “Women’s football deserves this. It’s really something special.
“I also believe [the support] is important before but also afterwards. During the game, you play the game, but before and after it means a lot, and I think Switzerland have done a fantastic job, looking at the stadiums. You have to be there, that’s the best line.”
Those other Wafcon last eight games, by the way, are:
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Morocco v Mali
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Algeria v Ghana
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South Africa v Senegal
South Africa are seeking to defend their title from 2022.
Away from the Euros, here’s a cracking chat with the reigning African women’s player of the year, Barbra Banda, who has been in superb form at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and is now eying silverware with Zambia.
They face Nigeria in a Wafcon quarter-final in Casablanca, Morocco, this evening.
Some pretty good banter here from Chelsea, to be fair.
How good was Hannah Hampton last night too? Not just in the penalty shootout, she made some big saves to ensure England got to penalties.
“The fans knew we could turn it around… don’t even write us off,” she told the BBC after, admitting it was a “stressful” game to play in.
“I think I was better when I had one nostril,” Hampton added, referring to the bloody nose she got in the game, which left her needing treatment. “Me and nosebleeds never go well, but I’m better with one nostril!”
With her stellar displays, the Chelsea goalkeeper has ensured any chat around Mary Earps’ absence from the squad and retirement has been put to bed.
The latest Women’s Football Weekly podcast has dropped. And there’s a bit to talk about.
Kelly may not have felt pressure when coming on in open play as a sub, but says the England players were “just as stressed as the fans” during the shootout.
At least she didn’t show it. Some supporters would have been hiding behind the sofa.
“We worked hard out on the training pitch, even on penalties,” she added.
“We had the experience of playing in a penalty shootout out at the World Cup so we’ve experienced that in tournament football.
“It didn’t go quite as planned, but we got the job done.”
On the flip-side last night was the excellent Chloe Kelly. Not content with providing two key assists to haul the Lionesses back into the game late in the 90 minutes, she delivered her penalty with a smile and a wink.
“I didn’t feel under pressure,” she said when asked about coming on as a substitute.
“I just wanted to go on and create some goals for the girls and be at my best. That’s what I tried to do and hopefully everyone can see that.
“I just tried to put the ball in the box and play to my strengths.
“Against teams like Sweden, there are going to be times when you’re struggling a bit and that’s football.
“But it’s about sticking together in those moments. Even in extra time, there were moments we felt uncomfortable but it’s about riding those storms together and knowing we’ve got resilient players in our team and we can bounce back from anything.”
Thanks Emillia. I’m still recovering from that chaos last night. A penny for Jennifer Falk’s thoughts … she made four penalty saves and her night still ended with agony, after missing her own kick. It was utter madness.
I’m off for a break now so Dominic Booth will be with you for the next hour or so.
Kai has messaged in with a very good question:
“In tournament football, has any winning team missed more shots than they scored in a penalty shootout? Apart from the England Women’s team last night.”
I’m going to have to look into this. If anyone knows the answer or has any examples, please email me.
In the men’s game, Manchester United have agreed to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford for an initial £65million. The fee could reach £71m with add-ons.
Liverpool also announced the signing of goalkeeper Rafaela Borggrafe on a free transfer this morning. The 25-year-old said: “This means a lot. This is a big club with a big history and I want to be part of that – we never walk alone. I want to have fun playing football and [I] am so happy to now be a part of the Liverpool family.
“I spent 12 years with Freiburg but I think this is the best step for me, to come to Liverpool. I’m happy – and a little bit sad to leave friends – but I want to get better and I think this is the best place for me to be here to work hard, get better and make the next big steps for my career.”
Rafaela is a Red 😁
We are delighted to announce the signing of goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe 🧤
— Liverpool FC Women (@LiverpoolFCW) July 18, 2025
You can keep up to date with the race for the Euro 2025 Golden Boot here:
Discussing her permanent Liverpool move, Sam Kerr said: “I’m so excited to get started and I’ve enjoyed my spell here so I just wanted to make it a little bit longer now. So I’m really happy that we could get it over the line and that I’m here for the long term.
“I think I knew after a couple of months that I was here that I was really loving it and if I had the opportunity to stay it’s something that I’d love to do. And when Liverpool came in, there wasn’t even a second thought. It was, ‘I want to do this and I want to stay at Liverpool.’”
Liverpool have just announced the permanent signing of Sam Kerr from Bayern Munich. Kerr joins following a six-month loan spell at the club.
We are delighted to announce that Sam Kerr has joined the club in a permanent transfer from Bayern Munich ✍️
— Liverpool FC Women (@LiverpoolFCW) July 18, 2025
Be sure to click here to recap all of the Euro 2025 results so far, as well as the final group standings.
Marcus Christenson
Swedish media reacted with incredulity and indignation after the country’s women’s team lost the Euro 2025 quarter-final to England on penalties.
The first Euro 2025 semi-final has been set. England will face Italy in Geneva for a place in the final on July 27.
The semi-final will take place next Tuesday.
Euro 2025 knockout schedule:
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The Spain defender Irene Paredes said the world champions would have to be calm in the face of the home support tonight. “We need to be patient,” she said. “They will have the crowd behind them, so they will come out very strong.
“They’re a team who know exactly what they’re about. They defend in great numbers and also get a lot of their players into the box to attack. They have very direct players and their midfielders love to keep the ball. Like I said, we’ll have to be very alert.”
The Switzerland defender Noelle Maritz has opened up about the support the team have received at their home tournament this summer.
She said: “The support we have had is impossible do describe. We all thought that there would be a good atmosphere at a home tournament … but on this scale? It gives you a lot of energy when you see the fans marching towards the stadium. You saw it at the Finland game – and to be able to share that success with the fans was really something.”
On the Spain match, she added: “We are very much looking forward to the game. We know that it will be hard but we also believe in our qualities. We have had a lot of meetings, have watched a lot of clips and have a good gameplan.
“You can see that in the last few weeks and the last few games we have grown into a stronger unit. We have a super team spirit and have been able to take a lot of positive energy from the past two games. We have a good feeling about this game.”
The Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage has said that she and her players watched clips from when the Swiss men’s team beat Spain in the 2010 World Cup for inspiration before the countries meet in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals in Berne today.
World champions Spain face tournament hosts Switzerland tonight in another quarter-final clash.
Spain are the favourites going into the match, but Switzerland will be desperate to cause an upset in Bern. Let’s look ahead to the match…
Euro 2025 quarter-finals:
David Hopkins messaged in about the penalty shootout:
“As exciting as it was, I was slightly surprised that the coverage of last night’s penalties tended towards the line of it having been amazing, and that even those who missed (on both sides) were brave to have stepped up. It strikes me as a bit patronising, rather than pointing out that many of those penalties were, frankly, a bit rubbish.”
Samuel Dodson emailed in with his take on Sarina Wiegman’s team selection – and pitched a brilliant Lucy Bronze chant:
“Think we are all still processing the insanity of the best/worst penalty shootout ever last night. Fair to say the scenes and mood in the pub shifted compared to the half time low. Agree with Nik that Wiegman seriously needs to consider her defensive options for Italy, though of course it will be not without risk to make a change at the semi final. However, without change: the writing is on the wall and while the Italians might not punish it (although Curruso and co have the pace to do so), France, Germany or Spain would all run right through us/Carter.
“But before getting to the tactics, can we take a moment to appreciate the glorious cool penalty from Kelly and the absurd performance that Bronze put in to wrestle us back into the game in the second half?
“Spandau Ballet need to update their song I think:
“Let’s hear it for Lucy Bronze (Bronze!) a metal that’s better than gold; she shoots and she always scores goals; she’s indestructible, oh, always believe in Lucy Bronze!”
Jonathan Liew
“The Letzigrund looks gorgeous under a pale pastel evening sun. The noise washes over the athletic track where Carl Lewis and Asafa Powell once broke the world record, and where Sweden are now flying out of the blocks and leaving England trailing in their dust.
We do not yet know that in many ways this is simply the prologue, that this devastating early two-goal flurry is actually relatively benign in comparison with the carnage that will follow…”
Anil Patel has messaged in from Zurich after watching the match at Stadion Letzigrund last night:
“I was at Stadion Letzigrund last night and at half time was wondering whether to sell my tickets for the semi-final in Geneva. I also thought to myself that I’d take extra time and the lottery of penalties at that point. The glory of football, the reason it’s the best sport, is that sometimes it’s about skill, tactics and professionalism, and sometimes it’s just pure chaos.”
Sarina Wiegman said England never doubted Hannah Hampton’s ability after the Lionesses goalkeeper made two crucial shootout saves to help send England through to the Euro 2025 semi-finals amid remarkable drama in Zurich.
Nik has messaged in with some thoughts on England’s team selection and route to the final:
“Sarina must swap Carter out, the weakness here is too much to be ignored. We may ride it out against the Italians but will be punished by Spain or France in the final, if we get there. I don’t think Germany have enough to make it to be honest.”
Speaking to BBC Sport at full-time, England manager Sarina Wiegman said: “It was hard. One of the hardest games I’ve ever watched. Very emotional. We could’ve been out four or five times during the game. When you’re 2-0 down at half-time it’s not good. We started really badly and then at the end of the first half we got better and in the second half we got better but we didn’t create anything so we had to change shape. Then we scored two goals so that was crazy already.
“Then we go into extra-time, some players injured, some players cramping, Hannah Hampton with blood all over the place. Then we go to the penalty shootout and we miss a lot but they miss even more and we’re through!
“I need to decompress I think!”
Following last night’s match, England striker Michelle Agyemang said: “It was a crucial moment as they were under so much pressure, sometimes it’s hard to convert those into goals, but we did what we did and we are here now today, so we can’t be happier.
“These games build your character as a player, it is great to be a part of and I am grateful to have been on the pitch and shared that moment with the rest of my teammates, and, you know, our fight, resilience and character was shown today.”
I want to hear from you today! Feel free to email me with your thoughts on last night’s match. Who impressed you the most? Who was your Player of the Match? Thoughts on the penalty shootout?
Also, let me know your score predictions for tonight’s game!
Tom Garry rated the performances of both Sweden and England last night. Click here to see who impressed the most…
England appeared down and out when Sarina Wiegman made her first three substitutions at the 70-minute mark last night. Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang especially made all the difference as the Lionesses scored two goals in 103 seconds.
For the first, Kelly delivered a perfect cross to Lucy Bronze at the back post, who headed past Jennifer Falk to close the gap. Then, just moments later, Kelly sent another ball into the box which was headed down by Beth Mead to Michelle Agyemang, who scored her first major tournament goal to fire England level.
The very definition of impact substitutions.
If you want to relive the drama from last night, be sure to give Suzanne Wrack’s match report a read…
Preamble
Wow. Have we all recovered from last night’s match yet? I think I’m just about getting there!
In case you somehow missed it, England came from 2-0 down to beat Sweden in arguably the most dramatic way possible. Hannah Hampton was the hero as the Lionesses won 3-2 on penalties after NINE spot-kicks were missed.
I’ll bring you all the reaction from that Euro 2025 quarter-final clash throughout the day, while also counting down to kick-off in tonight’s match between Spain and Switzerland.
Join me!
#Womens #Euro #Englands #wild #win #countdown #Spain #Switzerland #live #Womens #Euro
